Codename Whisper
by The Emerald's Edge
Summary: During the Great Galactic War during the era of the Old Republic a lone sniper is sent out behind enemy lines to take out high valued Imperial targets, using her skills at infiltration, stealth and patience. She enters the area, takes out her target and vanishes without a trace never being seen or heard. She is known only by her codename, Whisper.
1. Codename Whisper

Set during the time of the Great Galactic War before the Sacking of Coruscant and the signing of the Treaty of Coruscant

* * *

Balmorra, a factory world bordering the Core Worlds and a key strategic world in the on going war between the Sith Empire and the Galactic Republic. A full scale battle for the planet raged everywhere, the streets ablaze with seas of blaster fire and the night sky lighting up from the opposing fleets locked in a naval battle in the upper atmosphere despite the storm engulfing them. Bin Prime the capital city was the site of the biggest battle and the worst part of the storm, torrential downpours heavy enough to soak soldiers to the bone even through their armor.

At the top floor of one of the abandoned factories a lone figure hid in the shadows, lying on its stomach and peering through a rifle scope, through an open window and into the streets below. The scope's sights were set at the side entrance of the main workshop patiently set on the doorway waiting for a specific target to appear. The battle for Balmorra had tipped in the Republic's favor and was sure to be over before morning, but there was another objective they had hoped to accomplish here.

Gathered Intel had suggested that a high ranking Imperial officer was on Balmorra overseeing the design of a new type of weapon. Details on the weapon itself were vague, but the officer in question was a high valued target. Admiral Harrison Teal a decorated soldier with an accomplished career. Once the tide of battle went against the Imperials Admiral Teal was sure to try and escape, but thanks to a well placed air strike the landing pad on the workshop's roof was destroyed and the front entrance to the building was a small war zone leaving only the side entrance as an escape route.

The hidden figure's comlink beeped, "Whisper, an Imperial shuttle is moving toward your location at a fast pace, we think that's the target's ride be ready".

"Understood" the hidden figure replied moving even closer to its rifle.

A roar overhead deafened the hidden figure, but it remained still and unfazed as the shuttle zoomed no more than six meters overhead approaching the main workshop's side entrance. The side door to the workshop opened and a squad of five troopers ran out with a human male in an officer's uniform in the middle of them. A quick check of the protected officer's face confirmed it to be the target and the hidden sniper stiffened his shoulders against the rifle's stock.

Peering through the heavy downpour and calculating the direction of the wind and speed and distance to target the sniper wrapped his finger around the trigger and on his exhale pulled it back. The rifle's barrel jerked up as its thunderous boom echoed through the deserted room and the projectile flew down toward the streets and into the skull of the Imperial Admiral just before he stepped on the shuttle. The troopers surrounding the Imperial officer raised their weapons and began scanning the area while one kneeled down to check on the Admiral quickly giving up upon seeing the large hole in the side of his head.

Tapping a finger against the comlink in his ear the sniper announced his kill, "Kill confirmed. Admiral Teal is dead".

"Well done Whisper the battle will be over soon maintain position and provide support for our boys down there".

"Copy, moving on to second objective".

Shifting position the sniper angled his rifle down into the streets lining his sights against a target manning a mounted gun and pulled the trigger watching as the projectile round pierced through the target's helmet and bored its way into the target's head killing him instantly. Confirming the kill the sniper's sights moved to another target and with another shot came another kill followed by another and then a fourth. The battle below did not last much longer, once most of the Imperials were dead and their commanding officer confirmed KIA the remaining soldiers laid down their weapons in an attempt to surrender.

The sniper after being on his stomach for half the day finally stood up stumbling half a step before regaining his balance, he had arrived much earlier than the ground forces to scout for an appropriate vantage point and set up now that the job was done and the battle won he could finally relax. Returning to the streets the sniper was met with a few cheers from some of the Republic troopers patting him on the back and shoulder for a job well done though the only thing the sniper could think of was getting back to the cruiser so they could head home. A shuttle landed to pick up the ground forces and replace them with fresh troops to take over and the sniper boarded one grabbing the hand rails above for support as the shuttle took off.

"Easy day eh Whisper?" one of the troopers said.

Reaching up with one hand the sniper removed his helmet inhaling a long breath while shaking her steel colored hair, "Tiresome more like it".

"Wait you're a woman?" one of the other troopers gasped seeing the sniper without his helmet.

"Last time I checked" Whisper replied locking her dark green eyes on the trooper.

The first trooper chuckled, "That's right this is your first time seeing Whisper up close. Finlay here is new to the squad we told him we'd have sniper support from the best marksman in the Republic guess I should've said markswoman instead".

"I'm not the best" Whisper said to the first trooper who chuckled again.

"Modest as always" he patted her shoulder again, "Drinks are on me tonight, want to join us?"

Whisper shook her head, "I just want a hot shower and some sleep".

"Maybe next time then" the trooper nodded before turning to his men.

Whisper closed her eyes going over her estimates for the day, the condition of her rifle, the number of shots she fired and her kill count. When the shuttle finally docked with the lead cruiser she was the first one off and made her way toward one of the turbo lifts taking her to the crew deck. Entering her personal quarters she locked the door behind her and set her rifle down on her bed before removing her armor. Setting each piece aside in an orderly manner she stretched her arms back and entered the head to take a shower. When she finished she dried herself and changed into a basic crew uniform before climbing into her bed and closing her eyes.

Her codename was Whisper given to her because of her skills at stealth and infiltration. Before the Republic recruited her she was on her own fighting against the Empire, not as a free lancer just a lone soldier with a score to settle. Her homeworld was meant to be Onderon in the Inner Rim, but she was born on Kashyyyk in the Mid Rim. Her father was a well known hunter and through his travels had made friends with a Wookiee after saving it from a krayt dragon on Tatooine. The wookiees had a code of honor amongst their kind if their lives were ever saved by another they would swear a life debt to that person and forever remain loyal to them.

Her father Corrin Sparrow or as he was known to other hunters Apex a name he earned after successfully killing not one or two, but three rancors alone during a hunt gone wrong on Felucia. In his middle years Corrin met another hunter on Onderon woman named Sabrina, the two met in a hunting party and since that day had always traveled and hunted together. Visiting the wookiee homeworld Corrin was going to join in a ceremonial hunt with his wookiee friend Talon, the nickname he had given the wookiee and though the hunt ended in failure his wife had gone into labor giving birth to his daughter.

Given the name Talim by her mother she spent most of her younger years as a regular child with the added perk of getting to see multiple worlds as her father traveled for big hunts and when the day of her thirteenth birthday came she went on her first hunt with her parents and wookiee uncle. A mixture of excitement and nervousness overtook her and the day ended with no game, with guidance from her parents she had her sights lined up on an Iriaz in the plains of Dantooine she could not bring herself to pull the trigger. When asked why she didn't shoot she felt ashamed at first, but said she felt the creature's presence and just couldn't shoot something that hadn't harmed her.

That notion of mercy to a defenseless creature sparked something in both of her parents though they had been hunters for almost their entire lives they saw the innocence in their daughter's green eyes and could not bring themselves to convince her otherwise. Though the Iriaz and many other creatures they had encountered over the years were just wild animals with only base instinct driving them they could not force their daughter to kill something especially against her will. Though they never hunted for sport only for food sometimes the two hunters would be caught up in the experience especially when tracking a large predator, but there were other ways to feed themselves.

On that day the two hunters retired and took a new life closely related to their previous one as zoologists, allowing them to continue a similar life, but instead of hunting animals they would simply track and study them. They were often hired by rich families wanting to go on a safari as a vacation and because of their daughter they were able to see a new life in the different creatures they had hunted over the years. When not playing safari guide to others Talim and her parents would often go out on their own along with the wookiee Talon and just watch the native fauna of whatever world they were on. That was before the war started.

Talim was seventeen when it happened, one day the Empire had attacked Onderon and during the battle her home was destroyed, her parents killed. She was buried under the rubble of her home for an unknown amount of time, but eventually the debris trapping her was cleared away and a large hairy hand reached out to her. Her wookiee uncle Talon had dug his way in to find her, but after more digging discovered that both of her parents had died. In shock and unable to accept that her parents were dead Talim called out to them trying to pull their broken bodies from the debris crying and sobbing as she struggle to free them it wasn't until Talon wrapped his thick arms around her that she stopped and broke down.

Her nightmare would not end there however. As her crying slowed blaster shots could be heard nearby, there was still some fighting going on. Talon scooped Talim into his arms and began running wanting to get the girl somewhere safe, but they were intercepted by a squad of Imperial troopers who without warning began firing at them. Talon took several hits after he turned away to run still carrying Talim only now holding her close against his chest. The Imperial troopers gave chase, for whatever reason they wanted to kill the wookiee and the girl with him.

Talon had an idea, running for the city border he hid Talim in a dark corner and ambushed a pair of soldiers taking their rifles now armed he would take Talim into the jungle and they would wait out the battle. There were many dangerous predators in Onderon's jungles, but they were surely scared away by the sounds of battle. Right as they were about to escape the city however Talon was hit in the leg by a sniper and the large wookiee fell. Talim fell from his arms and rolled looking up just in time to see the sniper in the watch tower take aim at her, but Talon jumped in front of her as the shot came and the wookiee stumbled a step before aiming the rifle he took and firing back.

The sniper ducked for cover and Talon roared for Talim to flee. Following closely behind her Talon continued to fire at the watch tower to keep the sniper from getting a shot lined up and once they were far enough away they stopped running. Talim thanked her uncle for saving her, but the wookiee didn't respond he just sat against the tree silently. In a panic Talim jumped to his side and shook him, but only a few whimpers escape the wookiee's mouth, telling Talim how much he cared for her and her parents before his eyes closed and his chest fell still.

She shook him again screaming his name just as she did with her parents getting no response from the wookiee and again she cried only this time there was no one to comfort her. The distant sounds of battles could still be heard a few explosions here and there and the obvious sound of blaster fire and her despair had given way to fear. Though she had navigated this jungle hundreds of times she was too shaken to get her bearings and she did not want to leave Talon's side. Taking hold of the blaster rifle he took from one of the Imperials she lifted his heavy arm and sat next to him wrapping the arm around herself as she snuggled close to him, just like she did when she was a child.

She was not asleep for long, her eyes shot open at the sound of someone yelling. She hugged herself as close as she could to Talon's body not sure of who was out there, but eventually she heard them clearly. Imperials and they were looking for them.

"What's the big deal?" one asked, "It's a single wookiee and a girl both of them injured who cares if they're out here?"

"Our orders are to leave no survivors so find them and kill them" another said, this one closer than the other.

Curling her legs up Talim froze she could hear their boots crunching through the foliage on the ground around them. They were getting closer. She closed her eyes praying they would not find her, crying a prayer to anything or anyone to protect her, but when a branch snapped to her left her eyes slowly opened and she saw an Imperial trooper staring back at her.

"Well lucky me" he said with sinister amusement, "Looks like the hairball's already been taken care of, guess that just leaves you".

Talim cowered at his words and tried to move even closer to Talon hoping he would come back to life and protect her, "Go away" she choked as she hid.

"Hey you found them" another voice said as a second trooper appeared, "Damn looks like the wookiee already kicked it. I was looking forward to hunting down that thing".

Hunting, that word repeated in Talim's mind. She had seen many predators hunt their prey while out on her personal safaris. She didn't like the idea of the beautiful creatures she saw suffering, but she understood it was part of nature, the food chain that all animals were a part of. She was prey now, being hunted by these soldiers and as terror began taking hold over her she remembered something else. No matter what kind of predator is hunting it, when prey is cornered with nowhere to hide it fights back.

Something burned in her temple, it felt like a nerve had snapped in her head and her fear was being replaced by anger. Taking hold of the blaster rifle she stood up and aimed it at the two soldiers.

"You've got some fight in you huh?" the first one said not fazed by the blaster aimed at him, "But do you have the guts to pull that trigger?" he removed his helmet and stepped toward her.

"Don't come any closer" Talim said shaking as the soldier grinned at her.

"You don't have it in you" he said stepping even closer, "The conviction needed to kill someone, you're just a frightened child".

He grabbed the rifle's barrel and pressed it against his skull, "Do it" he smiled at her, "Prove me wrong at least you'll die with some dignity".

Her body covered in dirt and mud and exposed to the cold air caused her to shake even more and her finger tried to squeeze the trigger, but she stopped and lowered the weapon closing her eyes and looking away.

"As I thought" the Imperial said taking a step back and raising his own blaster, "Pathetic".

Hearing the click of the weapon's safety Talim's head snapped back to him and she raised the rifle pulling the trigger her shot finding its mark between the soldier's eyes. The Imperial's head snapped back and his body fell backward just as his friend surprised by the shot raised his own weapon, but he was too slow. Talim jumped forward pushing the soldier she shot into his friend causing him to fall to the ground. Pinned under his dead comrade the second trooper struggled to get free, but Talim jumped over to him and kicked him in the head knocking his helmet off. Standing over the pinned trooper she stepped on his neck and aimed the rifle at him and pulled the trigger again killing him.

With her predators dead she turned back to Talon's body and hugged her uncle one last time before setting off to find her way back to the city. She was going to make the Empire pay for this. When she returned to the city border she got down on her stomach and waited under a hedge gazing up at the watch tower looking for the sniper that shot at her and Talon. He was still there, patrolling around the tower's ring. Taking aim with her rifle she held her breath like her parents taught her and pulled the trigger.

The shot missed by a few inches, but the sniper was taken by surprised. The blaster bolt impacted the wall just in front of him and he jumped back aiming his rifle down toward the direction of the shot, but before he could take cover Talim fired again this time hitting him in the shoulder causing the sniper to stumble back and rebound off the wall before a third shot impacted his chest causing him to fall over the railing. Talim wasn't sure if he died from the blaster shot or the fall, but it didn't matter waiting for a few seconds to make sure he was dead she moved out from her cover and ran over to him taking his scoped rifle and moving back into the city.

She moved through destroyed and collapsed buildings up to balconies and roofs using the scope to scan the area around her taking shots at the imperials below. Most of her shots missed, but even as the soldiers below tried to locate the source of the shot she began piecing together a logical course of action. Too many shots from one spot would give her position away, a predator waits in silence as it stalks its prey not attacking until the time is right and if necessary will follow its prey until it finds that chance to pounce. She would no longer be the prey she was going to hunt them like they hunted her, but she had to move another shot from her current position would surely give her away. Staying low she crawled backwards until she was far enough from the window she could get up to one knee.

Staying crouched she moved to another spot a balcony one building over and one floor up, the soldiers below were still scanning the area, but now hiding behind cover thankfully Talim's new vantage point gave her a clear shot. Lying on her stomach again she peered through the rifle's scope and lined up her sights. Her breathing increased and with each breath her sights moved away from her target, lining the crosshairs on the imperial's helmet again she held her breath and pulled the trigger killing him. She could hear the other two soldiers screaming and swearing as their comrade was killed they ducked back into their cover and remained hidden, but Talim would wait for them.

When they were dead she moved to a new spot and continued the process, by the time the battle had ended she had killed seven soldiers not including the sniper from the watch tower or the two in the jungle. The imperials had won, but Republic forces arrived the next day and fought back the invading forces. Talim came out of hiding after the imperial forces fled leaving the rifle she took behind and joining the many refugees being herded onto transport shuttles to be relocated. She would never forget that day, the day the Empire took everything from her.

She had been to several worlds since then, hiding with a rifle and scope and killing more imperials, her accuracy improving each day. After a few months she had managed to kill an Imperial Admiral and Captain during the same battle the deaths of those two commanding officers drastically turned the tide of battle in favor of the Republic, but no soldier came forward to claim credit for the kills. Over the next few months more and more reports of an unidentified sniper came in and with each report a list of at least half a dozens confirmed kills sometimes high ranking imperial officers.

The Republic had instructed their own snipers to be on the lookout in hopes they would spot this mysterious sniper that was helping them, a sniper whose shots were rarely heard, masked by the sounds of battle. One day however a Republic sniper and his spotter stumbled upon the mysterious sniper by sheer luck. They were sent ahead of time to scout the area for recon and when they found a good place to set up they looked around and spotted the imperial commander they were looking for. Radioing in to confirm the target's presence they heard a gunshot close by and when they looked to the side they saw her.

"That's the sniper" one of them said with a restrained yell.

Talim's head snapped to the side surprised to see them there. She quickly jumped up rifle in hand and ran.

"Wait" the Republic sniper tried to call to her, but she hoped out of a window and slid down a drainage pipe into the side alleys and was gone long before the Republic sniper could reach her exit point.

"Command" the sniper's spotter said into his radio, "Target down".

"What? I didn't give the order to fire".

"It was the sniper sir" the spotter replied, "We saw her".

"Her?"

"Yes sir, her. She took the shot".

"Try to follow her, but do not engage. I want her alive".

"Understood".

The pair never did find her, she was long gone with no trace left behind and it would be another two months before she was seen again, but by then she had killed dozens more imperials and the Republic command had given her a codename, Whisper. Finally one day the Republic caught up to her. It was by luck that she was captured, she had taken her shot and killed another officer, but during her escape an artillery shell hit the building she was hiding in and she had no choice, but to dive out of the window. Thankfully she was only on the third floor, but that didn't make the ground any softer, she tucked her legs in and rolled when she hit the ground, but before she could get up to run she was surrounded by a surprised squad of republic troopers and detained.

After the battle ended she was taken back to the Republic Command Post where she was detained until a general arrived and offered her a chance to join the Republic military. The Republic General explained that they had been gathering every bit of Intel they could about her although it was very little and he admitted he was surprised to find out she was a woman, but even more surprised at her skills. She smiled when he told her the codename they had for her.

"I like it" she said quietly.

"Join us" he said, "We could definitely use someone like you on our side. You'd have to go through some formal training of course".

"I just want to see the Empire defeated" she said, "I don't want to join your army…I just want to make them pay for what they took from me".

"I suspected you had a good reason to fight" the general said to her, "I won't pry into what it is, but if you join us we can help with that. We can give you proper training, better equipment, Intel and the chance at taking down some really bad people".

"Alright" she agreed after a few moments to think, "But once this war ends I want out. I'm not committing to anything I'm not a permanent addition to your army. I'm here to put an end to some evil people, after that I'm out".

"I can accept that" the general said walking over to her and holding his hand out to shake hers, "Welcome to the Special Forces, Whisper".

Whisper lightly rubbed her eyes before opening them; slowly she sat up on her cot and looked around her quarters, according to her watch she had been asleep for almost eleven hours, she was sure to be back on Coruscant by now. Running her hands over her head she straightened her steel colored hair and rolled her shoulders back before picking up her custom made rifle and slinging it over her shoulder.


	2. Blood in the Sand

Whisper took a swig from her canteen, the cold water felt wonderful in her dried out throat, she held it in her mouth for a moment before swallowing wanting to savor the sting of its chill. She wanted to take another sip the blazing suns and scorching heat were beating down on her, but she had to ration what little she had left because chances were she would be here for another few hours.

"I hate this place" she said to herself.

Tatooine, a desert world in the Outer Rim another world currently controlled by the Empire. Intel had been obtained suggesting that a meeting of high ranking Imperials would be happening on Tatooine and Whisper was sent to observe the meeting.

"I'm not a spy meant to gather information" she told her commander, "I'm a sniper meant to kill people".

"Right now gathering information is the priority" the commander told her, "But chances are you will be tasked to take out one or two of them. Just do your job, and dress appropriately".

She would be boarding a shuttle headed to Tatooine filled with people looking for work. Her custom sniper rifle had to be disassembled and concealed in a bag in order to get past the port authorities. Aside from her rifle she had some basic equipment to help her mission, none of which would raise any suspicion, but she still had to be careful.

When the shuttle landed she grabbed her bag and filed out with the other passengers, the heat of the planet's two suns immediately bearing down on her making her sweat. Ignoring the heat for now she moved forward with the other passengers reaching the customs checkpoint of the port, chances were they would not check her bag too thoroughly from what she was told the port authorities here were pretty lax, but just in case she had a plan to cause a distraction. While no one was looking she tossed a small canister in a nearby trash bin and continued toward the customs check.

"What brings you to Tatooine Ms. Teal?" the twi'lek port worker asked checking her cover identification.

"Looking for work" Whisper replied, "I'm a mechanic".

"Tools and equipment in the bag?" he asked.

Whisper nodded without a word and the port worker motioned for her to set the bag on the table next to him so he could check it. Unzipping the large duffle bag he rifled through some of the tools, wrenches of varying sizes, a pair of hydrospanners and a hammer.

"Everything seems normal" he said before noticing another zipper line buried under the assorted tools, "What's this?"

Whisper reached her hand down to her belt buckle and pressed a switch under it. The trash bin she tossed her canister into began pillowing thick smoke before a fire started and everyone nearby began yelling. The port worker looked up to see the bin on fire and moved away yelling for everyone to stay back and keep calm, once he was a few feet away Whisper grabbed her bag and moved through the checkpoint making a beeline for the nearest crowd of people in case anyone saw her.

She heard no one call out for her to stop, but remained hidden in the crowds until she was sure it was safe. After moving around for half an hour she stepped out into the streets again and began looking around, she knew where and when the meeting would be taking place she just needed to find a good spot to observe. Ideally it would be an elevated position higher than where her targets would be, but far enough away that they couldn't see her.

She couldn't get inside the building where the meeting would be taking place, but she could get close to it. According to the Intel the meeting would be taking place on the third floor of the Czerka Administration building on the west side which faced the streets of the city. That was making it easy for her, one would think they would be smarter than that then again maybe they just wanted to gaze down at the people they saw as inferior. Whatever the reason it played to Whisper's favor, there were two buildings nearby that would give her a clear line of sight into the office where the meeting would take place now she just had to decide which one to use.

She ruled out the one directly across from the target, while its roof aligned perfectly with the Czerka building there was nothing that could provide cover for her, making her easy to spot if anyone looked out the window. The other was another block away, but well within range, a hotel of some kind. The only building just as tall as the Czerka office, but there were multiple rooms with windows she could shoot from. Most people would think snipers prefer ledges to shoot from, but in reality the best kind of sniper position to fire from inside a room through an open window, it hides the shooter, masks the report of a supersonic round and makes the muzzle flash impossible to see.

She entered the hotel to check if any of the rooms were vacant, but the only one on the third floor available was facing away from the Czerka building and out into the dunes. She tried the roof of the hotel next there were a few machines that would provide good cover making it harder to spot her, but she would not be able to get a good angle on the people in the room. She needed to think of something else, looking through her scope she rested her sights on the corner window of the office, a second window that would give her an even better line of sight, but there was nothing of good elevation for her to use. She could sneak into one of the rooms detain the occupants and go through with the mission, but she had to remain unseen.

"I might not have a choice" she said to herself.

The meeting wasn't scheduled to take place for another four hours, but that could always change so she needed to find her spot now. Of course regardless of what spot she chose the biggest obstacle to her mission would be dehydration, this was her first time in an environment like this. She had dealt with harsh environments before, humid swamps and thick jungles, but nothing like the deserts of Tatooine and the thought of the heat alone made her want something to drink. She took a swig from her canteen, the cold water felt wonderful in her dried out throat, she held it in her mouth for a moment before swallowing wanting to savor the sting of its chill. She wanted to take another sip the blazing suns and scorching heat were beating down on her, but she had to ration what little she had left because chances were she would be here for another few hours.

"I hate this place" she said to herself.

She was going to have to risk being seen, there was no other way. She could sneak into one of the rooms and knock out the occupants if they were and hopefully barricade the door, but then her only way out would be through the window. She could climb back up to the roof and hide or climb down into the streets and find somewhere to hide, but running around with a sniper rifle would draw attention leaving hiding on the roof or in the room she chose as the best options.

" _I have to risk it"_ she thought grabbing her bag and preparing to climb down from the roof, that's when she saw it.

A sandcrawler out in the dunes heading toward the city, she could use that. The gates leading to the dunes were on the north side of the city the same direction the second window in the office was facing. The sandcrawler would most likely stop on the north side of the city so the jawas piloting it would not have to walk far, she could climb to the top of the sandcrawler and use that as her vantage point. A sandcrawler was twenty meters tall and the target office was about ten meters the elevation was a lot taller than anything else, but she would be far enough away that she could look right into the office.

Slinging her bag over her shoulder she climbed down from the roof and ran for the north gates where the sandcrawler had stopped. Slipping in with the small group of people looking to trade with the jawas she moved through the city gates and stepped away while everyone was busy engaging the jawas. Moving around to the other side of the sandcrawler she prepared to climb the side of it, but she had to make sure it would stay in its current location until her mission was complete. Getting down on her knees she crawled under the mobile fortress and using the tools in her bag began taking apart the tread locks and engine couplers and severing a few wires, rendering the sandcrawler immobile.

" _That should take about two hours to fix, hopefully the jawas won't finish their business too soon"_.

Crawling out from under the immobile fortress she began climbing the side of it via an exhaust pipe, her bag slung over her shoulder. It took her a few minutes to reach the top, but she made it kneeling down she retrieved her scope from her bag and looked to the Czerka office, she could see the entire room from her position. The corner of her lips twitched in a quick grin as she pulled the pieces of her custom rifle out of her bag and began assembling it.

She preferred a projectile weapon to a blaster, her ammo capacity was more limited, but a projectile round could travel farther and the right kind of round could be more effective than a blaster shot. Armor piercing to take down armored targets, incendiary to cause a fire where she shot even concussive rounds to non-lethally bring a target down and then there were the different calibers projectile rounds could be made in. There was a round for any kind of situation and while it was true blaster had better ammunition efficiency and depending on the weapon their firepower varied and then there was the plasma scoring, but a target could survive severely burned skin, but a pointed projectile fired into the body at high speed could cause all kinds of internal damage. The round could hit a vital organ or shatter bone, it could go straight through the target causing it to bleed even more especially if it hit a vein or artery, or a smaller caliber could possibly tumble around after entering the body causing even more damage like internal bleeding. In the end while blasters have been around for centuries and were considered superior technology, there was no replacing or outsmarting a well placed bullet.

Assembling her rifle she pulled the bolt back and began loading the rounds and folded out the bi-pod neat the end of the rifle's barrel. Lying on her stomach she peered through her scope and watched the office window, confirming her line of sight she set a long range camera down under her rifle and aimed it at the window as well, now all she had to do was wait. Despite the merciless heat she remained patient and silent as she watched the office, in the past before her life changed her and her parents would watch the local fauna of whatever world they were on and talk about them, she missed that, having someone to talk to.

She wondered what her life would be like if her parents and Talon had survived the Empire's attack on her home. She would probably still be that innocent girl that just loved to watch animals every day, strange considering she was the daughter of two famous game hunters and she couldn't bring herself to kill the animals she saw to be so beautiful. Since that day she had no problem firing a weapon, no problem killing any imperial she placed her crosshairs on. She still couldn't stand the thought of killing any animals though, maybe that was the last shred of her innocence or past life hanging on, maybe that was her humanity regardless it wasn't something she gave much thought to because animals weren't the ones that killed her family, the imperials were so they would be the ones to die.

The hours passed by and finally she saw the door in the office open and four men entered and sat at the table in the center of the room. Through her scope and the long range camera she got pictures and tried to read the names on their uniforms before contacting her commander.

"Four targets, all in officer uniforms three males and one female. Names are Bison, Fullerton, Simmons and Burnside".

"Copy that Whisper standby".

There was silence while her commander tried to look up the names of the four targets while they both listened in on their conversation, or at least what they could hear the camera's laser mic was less effective at such a long range. What little they did hear was the mention of a new weapon and invasion plans, but their target name was not mentioned. The rest of their conversation seemed to be about how effective or costly their war effort has been recently. Whisper wrapped her finger around the trigger, she had a clear shot on each of them she could take them all down in less than six seconds, but she restrained the urge to fire, until the order was given she would hold back.

"Whisper, I think we've got all we're going to out of them. You have the go ahead to take them out, there will be a smuggler vessel landing in the next two hours, that's your extraction. The pilot's callsign is Archer he will answer to the challenge phrase 'At the end of the day, the bird returns to its next' the counter sign is 'Spread your wings'".

"Copy" Whisper said lining up her shot again and dialing up her wind gauge and distance meter, "Firing now".

Pulling the trigger the rifle recoiled and the bolt slid back ejecting the shell of its first shot. Thanks to the suppressor on the barrel's muzzle the sound of the shot was concealed enough that it couldn't be heard over the sandcrawler's engine. The bullet shattered the window finding its target in the side of his neck below his ear, Whisper could imagine her target's trachea snapping in half as the high speed projectile shot through the target's neck and passed through and into the neck of the man sitting next to him. A two for one kill and her sights moved to the next target as her first two kills fell out of their chairs, one of the remaining two was to shocked to find cover before Whisper's next shot was buried in her chest killing her instantly leaving only one left. The last officer tried to run for the door, but Whisper raised her aim and fired again watching as the round entered the back of his head causing it to snap forward, slamming into the closed door before his body bounced back and he fell to the floor.

A quick scan of the room confirmed her targets to be dead, "Kills confirmed" she said.

"Well done Whisper, clean up and get out of there".

Sliding back to her knees and getting up she disassembled her rifle and placed it back in her bag before climbing down the side of the sandcrawler. There were jawas raising a fuss about their transportation not working and one saw her climbing down and said something to her, but she didn't understand their language or cared and kept moving. Reentering the city she made her way back to the port avoiding the Czerka building, there was a minor commotion about a large amount of shattered glass that fell from the building, but so far no one seemed to know what was going on.

Returning to the space port she waited for the smuggler vessel to land and approached the pilot as he stepped off, a tall early middle aged man with a thick black beard.

"At the end of the day, the bird returns to its nest" she said to him quietly.

"Then spread your wings" he answered back.

Whisper nodded and stepped onto the ramp and into the ship.

"So you're Whisper" the smuggler said raising the ramp, "Your boss told me I'd be picking someone important up, so what's your deal?"

"Its best if you don't know" she answered quietly.

"I can see why they call you Whisper" he chuckled noting how quietly she spoke, "It'll be about three hours before we get back to your boss so if you want to nap the starboard side hold has an extra cot in it".

Whisper only nodded before grabbing her bag and walking into the starboard hold, she was always tired after an operation, but she would wait until she was back home before sleeping. For now she just went over her mission, four kills with three shots from roughly nine hundred yards was good, but not what she would consider overly impressive though her commander would say otherwise, but she was too modest to even privately praise herself. Feeling the ship lurch as it jumped to hyperspace she relaxed and started counting the time until she made it back to base.


	3. Red Rain

Whisper ran over the rooftops of the Royal Palace the heavy rain from the storm obstructing her vision. She jumped avoiding a joint beam at the corner before sliding on her heel and grabbing the ledge next to her. Twisting her body as she fell she swung inside an open window rolling to a stop on her knee as she raised her rifle scanning the room. Her hair dirty and soaked now clung to her skin, brushing it from her eyes she stood up and continued running.

Her target was already inside; she could feel it, an Imperial assassin looking to kill the current leaders of House Organa. She had failed once to kill him already; she missed by a few inches, the winds from the storm causing her shot to sail to the side. She was supposed to stop him before he got anywhere near the Royal Palace where the noble houses of Alderaan were meeting to come to a decision on which house should lead their world. She knew which nobles her target was after so as long as she could find them first she could still finish her mission, but she had to find them and the assassin was already inside.

She laid on the roof of the barracks for the Royal Guard next to the Royal Palace watching the streets below, a special thermal scope attached to her rifle allowing her to see only the heat signatures of organics. She had been in the city for two days already moving through the streets near the palace taking note of various sniper nests that would have a good line of sight on the palace entrance. She counted five positions a sniper could fire from now she just had to figure out where her target would fire from.

" _If I were the assassin where would I take my shot?"_

Checking the library first she scaled the side of the building via a drainage pipe and rested at the northwest corner facing the Royal Palace. Kneeling she raised her arms as if aiming her rifle and closed one eyes as she peered through her imaginary scope. She could see the entire courtyard it was definitely within the effective range of almost any long range rifle, but there was no cover aside from the roof railing leaving the shooter pretty exposed.

" _Unlikely"_ she thought looking up to the nearby clock tower.

A high position to be sure, she had to sneak in and scale the maintenance shaft to the balcony circling just under the clock face, but she had a clean shot not only to the courtyard, but to every area around her as well. The balcony railing offered just as little cover as the library's roof, but the superior height would work in a sniper's favor.

" _I could easily take my target from here, but getting down would take at least four minutes plenty of time for the whole area to go into lockdown. I would have to fight my way out. I could hide in the vents for an hour or two wait out the guard response, but if they found me I'd be fighting from a weaken position"_.

She shook her head, no while it would be ideal to hide and wait out a guard response the ground floor would lead out into the main street which means the assassin would run right into the Royal Guard. The assassin could hide in the maintenance shaft for the rest of the night or even the entire next day, Whisper had done it herself several times staying in a single spot for an entire day waiting for a target and hiding for almost a full day after killing her target before leaving. While hiding in one spot increased the chances of being found over time if it was a good enough spot she would never be found. Climbing back down the maintenance shaft she found only one spot that would make a decent hiding place, but it was too small for even her to enter so unless the assassin was a child he wouldn't make his nest here.

She spent hours at each sight taking in every detail any perch she could use to rest her rifle, the amount of cover and most importantly the distance to the palace courtyard. Five potential positions and she eliminated three, the sun was setting now. The orange hue stretched further into the horizon and the palace radiated as the last of the sun's rays reflected from the painted glass. The reflected glare blinded her causing her to shift her position a bit.

" _The sun rises from behind the palace taking a shot in the morning means the sun would be against him blinding him. At noon the sun would cover the whole city any guard with binoculars would spot him and as the sun set the glare from the reflected light would shine back blinding him. His best chance would be at night, escape under the cover of darkness, but that means my eliminated spots are viable again"_.

She sat down leaning back against the wall; the only spot that was completely eliminated was the bell tower of the nearby church. In addition to being at the maximum effective range of even the best rifles the ringing bell would be completely disorienting. She looked across the street back at the library; there were lights on the roof so even at night shooting from the library was not a good choice.

"Maybe he won't try to hide" she said to herself, "Maybe he wants to get caught. Make a public statement to strike fear into the people after he kills his target. But would the Empire sacrifice a good sniper for the sake of delivering a message? A low end grunt maybe, but I can't imagine even them throwing away a good assassin".

She sighed and wiped her forehead, the late day heat making her sweat. First she had eliminated three, then those three were back on the table and then she eliminated two of them again. She wasn't making any progress she needed to try a new angle. She looked back at the palace, she could set up on the roof of the palace she would have a good line of sight to the other positions and the late day glare would conceal her, but if she got there too early the assassin might see her setting up.

She turned her gaze to the guard barracks next to the palace, a shorter building, but hidden behind the nearby royal library. She stood up it was worth a check. Climbing down from her position on the church roof she ran down the block toward the palace sneaking around through the alleys before scaling the courtyard wall and then climbing the wall of the guard barracks. She had to be careful not to be seen, neither the guards or the nobles knew she was there or of the assassin after the members of House Organa telling them would have scared them sending them into hiding or causing them to blame the other houses. There was a civil war between the noble houses was hurting Alderaan and having them finally unified would not only help their own world, but the Republic as well.

On the roof of the guard building she raised her imaginary rifle again and scanned the surrounding area, she had a perfect view of all of the sniper nests she marked. She would be able to see him from anywhere and unless he was shooting from the clock tower he wouldn't be able to see her. She raised her rifle aiming at the clock tower, she could make the shot from here it was roughly a thousand meter give or take an easy shot.

" _Alright I've got my spot now for the prep work"_.

Returning to her safe house for the night she laid down to rest. She had trouble sleeping, something felt off about. Turning onto her side she closed her eyes trying to force herself to sleep, but something kept chewing at the back of her mind. She dreamed that night, a dream filled with cold darkness a single red beam of light advancing on her. She tried to shoot it to scare it away, but the light just flashed around each of her shots blocked somehow and soon the light was upon her. Whisper jumped forward tackling into whatever was wielding the red light, running past it she turned and shot at the light again only to have the light flash forward and strike her.

It burned a pain she had never felt before. She screamed or at least she thought she did her voice was cut off as something grabbed her by the throat and lifted her from the ground. She could feel her throat being slowly crushed, tears flooding her eyes as she struggled against her attacked. The light drew closer to her and angled itself along her neck and as the crimson glow illuminated her face. Then the light drew back pointing directly at her before thrusting forward into her chest.

Her eyes flew open her hand sliding out from under her pillow, gun in hand and slammed the butt of her weapon against her assailant's jaw knocking him down. Leaping forward she kicked at the back of her attacker's knee before jumping onto his back hooking her arm under his and anchoring against his shoulder restraining him. Pushing him down she shoved the barrel of her handgun against the back of his skull and wrapped her finger around the trigger.

"Whisper its me chill" her attacker coughed.

She recognized the voice, "What are you doing here?" she asked releasing him and stepping back.

"Little rough don't you think?" he asked her massaging his shoulder and jaw, "Higher ups wanted me to help you I just got here an hour ago".

Harlan, a captain in the Republic Army and the first person who spotted Whisper before the Republic recruited her, a tall tanned skinned human he was the one person Whisper didn't mind talking to. Standing at almost two meters and weighing just over a hundred kilograms he was definitely a big guy and a hardened and loyal soldier. Dozens of scars covered his arms alone from a time he was captured and tortured before being rescued. He was an outstanding soldier and Whisper respected his dedication, she liked him to an extent, but did find him slightly annoying. He had a fascination with her he would often seek her out after missions to check on her and on more than a few occasions asked her to join him and his squad for drinks after a successful mission, an offer she always declined.

"I don't need help Harlan" Whisper said turning around to change her clothes.

The trooper turned his back as well while she changed, "I believe it, but command wants to make sure this goes down without a hitch. There's a couple of Jedi here as well".

"Jedi" Whisper muttered irritably, "The supposed solution to every problem".

"These two are really good from what I've heard" Harlan said massaging his shoulder again, "Damn, almost pulled my arm out of its socket".

"You know I don't like people sneaking up on me. You're lucky I didn't shoot you".

"Noted" he groaned rubbing his jaw again, "Sneaking up on you while you're sleeping I get the feeling I might die if I do that again".

"Most likely" she answered, "What time is it?"

"Almost noon" Harlan replied, "The members of Organa House will be arriving late, the two Jedi are already inside the palace with the members of the House of Thul are already there as well".

Done changing Whisper turned around, "Well if I need a spotter I'll let you know, but for now I'm fine on my own".

"A second rifle never hurts just tell me where you set up and I'll take up a position that gives us a crossfire".

"I've got it covered" she said becoming a bit annoyed, "Go help the Jedi, leave the target to me".

Harlan sighed in resignation, "Alright, just be careful ok".

A rumble of thunder echoed as Whisper watched Harlan leave, by the sound of it a big storm was on the way. Grabbing her gear and heading outside she looked out to the horizon and saw the storm clouds the storm would definitely hit the city within the next hour, but how long would it last? Depending on how much rain came with it her vision would be obstructed. Returning to the roof of the guard barracks she set her gear bag down and began assembling her rifle, the thunder overhead was already deafening and she could see the pouring rain at the other end of the street.

She was given a special thermal scope for her rifle, instead of showing any heat signatures it would only show the heat given off by living creatures and now that the downpour was on top of her she would need it. She got up to one knee and removed the suppressor from her rifle, timing her shot with the thunder would drown out the sound of her shot and removing the suppressor gave her better range. Lying on her stomach she set her rifle in place and looked through the scope, she looked into the courtyard first the guards were formed up and waiting and the people in the streets were rushing to get inside. She didn't mind getting soaked; she had been in this situation before, waiting for hours in a heavy rain for a single target.

The hours ticked by and the rain had soaked through her gear, she could feel her fingertips inside her gloves wrinkling the tightening of her skin hurt a little. Her clothes had absorbed so much water she felt like she could be swimming by now. A chill caused her to shiver and she coughed.

" _Fantastic"_ she thought.

She didn't care if she got sick as long as she killed her target that's all that mattered. Time passed and the rain battered her even more, the thunder overhead roared and the lightning strikes lit up the skies the only solace she took was the wind was blowing away from her not against her. During the last lightning strike she thought she saw something move in the clock tower, directing her scope there she did see something move, but it wasn't a person just one of the local wildlife flying through the city.

"Must have made its nest there" she said to herself before seeing something else on her scope.

Zooming in she saw a humanoid figure swatting at the bird trying to chase it away. A worker maybe, no no one would head that high up during a thunderstorm this bad unless they were plotting something. This had to be her target. She looked down at the streets the convoy carrying the Organa House nobles was on its way. Looking back up to the clock tower she saw the figure shifting around, she recognized the position it took the way his arms were held out, he was holding a rifle.

Dialing her gauges in she aimed up and to the side compensating for the height and wind and took in a breath and held it. Wrapping her finger around the trigger she steadied her aim and in synch with the roaring thunder exhaled and pulled the trigger. Her rifle jerked back into her shoulder and she watched her target ducked to the side just as her shot hit the wall behind where he was just standing.

"No" she whispered, aiming her scope preparing to fire again.

Firing a second shot she missed again as her target ducked to the side rising to take a shot at the nobles in the street below, but thanks to Whisper's threat the assassin missed killing one of the escorts instead. The nobles and guards panicked rushing inside while another group of guards tried to locate the source of the shot. Whisper checked her scope again her target was getting ready to move, but before she could fire he jumped.

" _Suicide?"_ she thought watching her target fall to the roofs of the buildings below the clock tower.

"Really?" she complained after seeing her target roll as he landed and keep running.

That was at least a sixty meter drop there's no way he survived that. Her surprise did not end there, she tried to line another shot on the assassin, but he was moving fast far faster than any man should be able to run. She watched as he got to the end of the roof he jumped down and shot at the guards standing watch killing them as he ran for the palace doors.

Standing up she took aim, but her target was already inside. Swearing she ran for the edge of the roof and jumped off tucking her legs in and rolling as she hit the ground. Running for the palace wall she slung her rifle over her shoulder and jumped onto the drainage pipe and began climbing, going in through front door would have been quicker, but if the guards saw her they would get in the way. Jumping from the drainage pipe onto a nearby ledge she turned to the wall and planted her foot jumping up and off the wall reaching for the ledge above her and pulling herself onto the roof.

She jumped avoiding a joint beam at the corner before sliding on her heel and grabbing the ledge next to her. Twisting her body as she fell she swung inside an open window rolling to a stop on her knee as she raised her rifle scanning the room. Her hair dirty and soaked now clung to her skin, brushing it from her eyes she stood up and continued running.

Water splashed out of her boots as they slammed into the decorative stone floor she couldn't hear any yelling which means every guard had rushed to the lower levels to chase down the assassin. Something else she didn't understand, normally if a sniper misses his chance to take their target they either relocate to a backup position or accept failure and leave, but this guy charged right into the palace probably killing a few guards in the process. Charging into the palace unless he killed every single guard there was no way to get out and then there was Harlan and the two Jedi, there was no way for the assassin to get out now so why chase his target inside.

Coming to a corner she grabbed hold of a cabinet and used it as an anchor as she sprinted around the corner, the throne room wasn't that far off and that's where her target would be. Another turn and through a center room she found a window overlooking the throne room unlocking the latch she pushed the window open and climbed out stepping onto the rafters. She was about thirteen meters above the floor she could see the nobles below along with two females a human and a Togruta both in full body robes, Harlan and the captain of the guard. Jumping onto the next rafter she remained quiet to not spoke the guards, grabbing hold of a beam she pivoted around to the other side before leaping to the next beam. The lead guard below was yelling into his communicator trying to get a status update thankfully his yells drowned out whatever sounds Whisper would have made.

Grabbing hold of another support beam she steadied herself before turning and kneeling down at a corner where the rafters crossed. Grabbing her rifle she removed the thermal scope sliding it into her pocket and took aim at the doors. It wasn't long before the sounds of blaster fire erupted outside the throne room, the guard captain below receiving word from his men that the assassin was inside and killing everyone. The blaster fire stopped and the guard captain tried to get a status update, but no one responded. Both Harlan and the guard captain approached the door weapons raised, but the people in robes stepped in front of them.

"We'll handle this gentlemen" the Togruta female said stepping forward with her compatriot.

The throne room doors opened and a man in black and orange armor covered in a few blood smears stepped inside.

"All this death" the Togruta began, "For what? Why do you want to kill him?"

"My master's orders are absolute" the assassin replied, "I would have killed him outside, but it seems someone else was there. Another sniper and he had managed to interfere just enough to make me miss my shot. Now I had to come in and kill all these people. You know at first I was pretty upset about it, but now I come face to face with two Jedi. Even if I failed to kill my target right away my master will be greatly pleased once he learns I killed a pair of Jedi in the process".

The assassin threw his rifle away before reaching for his waist and grabbing some kind of handle. Gripping the handle with both hands the assassin set himself in a battle stance before a red light extended from the hilt, a lightsaber.

"A Sith assassin" the Togruta Jedi said, "I should have known. No normal assassin could have made it all the way and killed all those guards".

"Oh don't feel too bad about it" the Sith said, "They weren't that good at their job, missed shots flying in every direction. I think only two of them managed to hit me before I gutted every single one of them".

"You'll pay for this scum" the guard captain said rushing forward shooting at the Sith.

The Sith waved his lightsaber around blocking and deflecting the blaster shots around the room before reaching his hand out and the guard captain stopped and gasped for air as he was lifted from the ground.

"Pathetic" the Sith said before throwing the guard captain against the wall, "Now" he flourished his lightsaber, "Who would like to be next?"

The two Jedi advanced on their enemy quickly engaging in combat with him. Whisper had a shot on him when he entered the room, but she had never seen a Sith or Jedi fight and took this time to observe for a moment. Watching their movements trying to see how they fight, but they were moving so fast she could barely keep up.

The Sith blocked an overhead strike from the Togruta Jedi and extended his arm pushing her far away before moving to block another strike from the human Jedi, this one was wielding a longer hilt with a lightsaber coming from both sides. She attacked with a thrust first before stepping back and spinning her weapon around for a backhand strike then chaining into an overhand attack, but the Sith blocked each of them before pushing her back as well.

"Enough" the Sith said, "You both are boring me" holding his hand a steam of lightning shot from his fingers arching toward the two Jedi who raised their lightsabers to intercept the attack.

So this was the Force she had heard about. The mystical ability of the Jedi and Sith, Whisper had been on missions where Jedi were present, but she never saw them in action, due to her role as a sniper she was often sent out alone or with a single partner to be her spotter so to see this for the first time it seemed supernatural. The Sith laughed as the two Jedi held off his attack they were straining to hold him off, but they were still alive and yet the Sith was ready to declare his victory. Whisper raised her rifle setting the stock against her shoulder and closing one eye as she gazed down the sights at the Sith, but before she could fire Harlan attacked him. The Republic Captain fired a few shots forcing the Sith to break off his attack and defend himself, with a few flicks of his wrist he spun his lightsaber and deflected the shots back at Harlan all three of which hit him in the chest causing him to fall back.

The Sith laughed again as the two Jedi got to their feet and their lightsabers all locked together again. The Sith continued to taunt them as he held off their joint attack, but his words were deafened by the sound of Whisper's rifle going off. The sound of the rifle shot echoed through the throne room and the Sith's expression quickly changed as his head snapped back and blood shot out from the hole in his forehead as his body fell back to the floor his deactivated lightsaber rolling away from his hand as he hit the floor.

"Another assassin get down" the Togruta Jedi yelled turning toward the direction the shot came from.

"No wait" Harlan coughed clenching at his chest as he tried to sit up, "She's with us" he coughed again, "Whisper…You couldn't have done that earlier? Where are you?"

Whisper shook her head as she slung her rifle over her shoulder and reached for the giant banner against the back wall and used it to slide down.

Harlan coughed again as he looked over to her, "Did you miss the shot outside or something?"

Whisper looked down at him, "He dodged my shot somehow".

"It was the Force" the Togruta Jedi said to her, "Sometimes the Force can allow someone to perceive imminent danger and react" she stepped toward Whisper, "I do not recall seeing you on the shuttle here are you a member of the Royal Guard?"

"No she's with us" Harlan coughed again finally up to one knee, "She's a sniper with the Republic, a damn good one to. You've probably heard of some of her work".

"Then it seems we have you to thank" the human Jedi said, "Though we would have preferred to take our enemy alive thanks to you we have succeeded in keeping the nobles safe" she bowed her head, "I am Satele Shan Jedi Knight and this is my master Dar'Nala".

Whisper did not respond instead she walked over to the body of the dead Sith and reached for his lightsaber to inspect it.

"Don't mind her" Harlan said to the Jedi, "She doesn't talk much. That's why we call her Whisper" he massaged the chest plate of his armor, "That's got to be a bruise".

The sound of a lightsaber being switched on grabbed everyone's attention as Whisper held the weapon in her hand and waved it around listening to the unique humming sound as it cut through the air. Holding it close to her she could feel a slight heat coming from it before making a slash at the floor and watching the tip of the weapon cut into the polished decorative stone.

Switching the weapon off she discarded it before looking back to Harlan and the Jedi, "Mission complete, let's go home" she said quietly.


	4. Upper Hand

Whisper was lying on her stomach at the edge of a collapsed building staring down at an Imperial outpost. She had been watching this outpost for almost two days now waiting for her target to show. Republic SIS had obtained Intel that Dai Finik a Moff would be on Taris. A target too important to pass up, so Whisper was sent to take him out. During the sunset of the second day, however, she was discovered.

She had a decent amount of cover with her elevated position, but if anyone got behind her, she would be completely exposed. Usually, she would lay down a couple of mines or a laser tripwire that would send an alarm to her earpiece when tripped, but she wasn't that worried about being found however because it would be difficult to climb to her level. She had plenty of overhead cover thanks to the other destroyed buildings so the only thing that could reach her position would be a probe sent out to scan the area or so she thought.

He was so silent she never heard any of his footsteps everything was quiet until she heard his weapon being switched on. Slowly she lowered her rifle and turned her head her eyes falling onto a humming red blade of a lightsaber and the crimson-skinned pureblood Sith wielding it. Getting up to one knee and then slowly standing she locked her eyes on the yellow eyes of the large, muscular alien before her and it grinned malevolently at her.

"Why do you want to know about our weapons?"

Whisper had tracked down one of the Jedi she met on Alderaan, the human that identified herself as Satele Shan. After killing an assassin on Alderaan one that turned out to be a Sith Warrior, Whisper inspected his weapon a lightsaber also the weapon of the Jedi. She had never seen one in action before that day despite being deployed on over two dozen OPS, but after finally seeing one be used and seeing how it deflected blaster shots and easily cut through solid objects she wanted to know more about them.

"I don't know anything about them" Whisper quietly answered as they stood in the center of Senate Tower's lobby on Coruscant.

Whisper was dressed in civilian clothing for the first time in over a week, wearing a pale green loose fitting shirt with a tan vest and matching jeans with black boots. She did not carry her rifle with her in the streets, but she did carry a pistol and vibroknife with her. The pistol much like her sniper rifle was not a blaster, but a projectile weapon firing bullets instead of plasma.

The Jedi Satele was dressed in what appeared to be a typical garb of the Jedi, a tight fitting olive-brown combat robe with gold trimmings. She wore her lightsaber on her belt, but the hilt was much longer than the one Whisper held on Alderaan, then again the sniper remembered seeing Satele's lightsaber was double bladed a saber coming from both ends of the hilt.

"What would you like to know?" the Jedi asked.

"How do they deflect blaster shots for one thing," Whisper said.

"Well as I'm sure you know blaster bolts are either plasma or high-energy particles held in place by a magnetic bubble" Satele began.

"And when it impacts a target that bubble is ruptured, and the plasma or energy is splashed against its target" Whisper finished.

Satele nodded, "The blade of a lightsaber is very similar. A lightsaber is a blade of superheated plasma held in place by a magnetic field, and when it strikes a target the field is selectively disrupted at the point of impact, and the heat of the plasma is released. Since the plasma that makes up the blade is more focused than that of a blaster shot they can cut through objects and keep their form since the blade is not solid."

Whisper concluded the reaction between the two, "So when the magnetic bubble of a blaster shot meets the magnetic field of a lightsaber they repel each other just like opposing magnets."

Again Satele nodded, "And because they are so similar to each other neither is disrupted when the two meet instead they just repel each other."

"So how do you reflect the shot without being knocked back?" Whisper asked next, "A blaster shot packs a good punch."

"One would think that. But because the plasma states the blade and shot both lack a high mass as I'm sure you know momentum is determined by an object's velocity and its mass" Satele explained, "But because blaster shots are plasma and therefore not a solid object they lack mass the same as a lightsaber's blade."

"So the bounce back is easily compensated for by the wielder's muscles then.

Satele nodded again, "And as far as how we deflect shots back along a particular angle that is a combination of understanding physics and using the Force to guide out movements."

Whisper wrapped her hand around her chin, "So what would happen if the lightsaber was used to block a shot from a projectile weapon instead of a blaster? I use bullets instead of plasma because bullets travel faster and can deal more damage to a target."

"I would imagine the shot would still be melted upon contact with the lightsaber because of its small size, although I would also assume the impact would be felt more because a bullet's mass is more than a bolt of plasma."

Whisper ran her fingers along her chin a few times as she thought on what Satele had told her, "Would you mind letting me test that?"

"What do you mean?" Satele asked her.

"I'm curious if different calibers of bullets would have different effects or if the lightsaber would stop them all equally. Would you mind letting me test that?"

"I would not mind no" the Jedi answered, "But I would like to do so somewhere safe of course, away from others."

Whisper nodded and led the Jedi to the nearby garrison for the Republic Army. Thankfully the firing range was unoccupied. Whisper pointed for Satele to head down range while the sniper set up with her weapons.

"I trust your aim is good enough to avoid hitting me" Satele said taking hold of her lightsaber and activating it and holding it out to the side.

Whisper said nothing as she kneeled down and took aim with her pistol, lining up the blue-colored plasma blade with the sights of her sidearm. Taking a breath she held it to steady herself and alongside her exhale pulled the trigger. The barrel of the gun kicked up, but her firm grip kept the weapon steady in her hands, and she watched the Jedi down range flinch.

Standing up Whisper looked at Satele, "I was right" the Jedi said, "I did feel that, but your shot melted when it hit."

Whisper hummed as she slid her sidearm back into its holster, "Wait there" she said so quietly she might as well have been talking to herself.

Grabbing her rifle from the nearby table, she loaded a single shot and kneeled again, taking aim at Satele's lightsaber. Holding her arm up Whisper gave the Jedi a thumbs up gesturing that she was ready and waiting for the Jedi to return the motion. Peering through the scope of her rifle Whisper leveled her crosshairs with the blue blade and again held her breath before pulling the trigger on her exhale. The rifle recoiled in her arms, but she kept the stock held tight against her shoulder absorbing the kick back and kept looking through her scope.

She watched the blade of the lightsaber almost fly out of the Jedi's hands as the shot impacted it. Tilting her rifle she turned her sights to the floor looking for any trace of the bullet, but saw nothing. Lowering her weapon she looked up to the Jedi who had switched off her weapon and massaged the palms of her hands.

"I have to admit I wasn't ready for that," Satele said to her, "If I wasn't holding on to the hilt so tightly I fear it would have been knocked out of my hands. It looks like your bullet was destroyed again."

Whisper thought to herself as Satele walked back over to her, the higher caliber shot did impact the blade enough to make it move though it was still destroyed by the superheated plasma when it hit. Now she wanted to know if a Jedi or Sith could wield a lightsaber fast enough to stop multiple bullets. Blaster bolts traveled slower than bullets, but Satele claimed that Jedi were able to block these shots through the assistance of the Force, but even then there was a limit to how fast the physical body could move.

"Something else is on your mind" Satele noted seeing the thoughtful look in Whisper's eyes.

Whisper told the Jedi of her thoughts and her desire to test them, but she was hesitant to try in the event Satele failed to block one of her shots and ended up severely wounded.

"I'm glad to know you are considering my safety," Satele said.

"You're about the same size as me" Whisper said to her examining the Jedi's figure, "My armor should fit you. In the event, you get shot it won't go through."

"May I ask why you want to test the capabilities of a lightsaber so much?"

"I like to be prepared," Whisper told her, "In the event, I end up with a Sith in my crosshairs I want to make sure I can kill them. If it weren't for this Force thing of yours warning them of my presence it wouldn't be an issue."

"The Force doesn't necessarily warn us" Satele explained, "Think of it more like a sixth sense that lets us sometimes sense a potential threat."

"Like animals when a predator is near?" Whisper asked.

"That is an appropriate analogy, but less of a primal instinct. We train ourselves to understand how the Force flows and recognize certain feelings. So say you were targeting me and prepared to fire, I would sense your intention to kill me and react."

"That explains how that Sith evaded my shots on Alderaan, but I still killed him inside the palace."

Satele recalled the shot that killed the Sith, "We are required to remain calm in combat to keep our senses clear and perceive the environment around us. It is likely that the Sith was so focused on Master Dar'Nala and myself that he could not sense your presence."

"Regardless most of my missions involve me being on my own often away from the actual battlefield, so there won't be many distractions. I need to know I can defend myself should I ever encounter a Sith."

"I must admit I am hesitant to do this, but as a Jedi, I am always taught to be prepared so I can't fault you for wanting to be as well."

Whisper pointed to a row of lockers, "The one of the left side is mine. My spare set of armor is inside."

Satele walked over to the row of lockers and opened Whisper's, "I thought you didn't talk much."

"I don't typically" Whisper replied, "Normally I would have researched all of this myself, but this was faster than tracking down data and records, and I don't have access to a lightsaber of my own to test all of this on. Thank you for helping me."

"You're welcome," Satele said shifting the armor she had on, "It's a little loose."

"It'll work," Whisper told her, "I'm using my sidearm since it can fire faster, besides my rifle shots would penetrate it."

Satele walked back downrange and activated her lightsaber making several practice swings to make sure she had a good movement range in the armor piece. Signaling to Whisper that she was ready she held her weapon firm as the sniper stood and took aim. The gunshot echoed, and Satele swung her lightsaber to the side blocking the first shot before crossing the weapon over her to block the second and then a third, fourth, fifth and sixth shot and finally a seventh. She had to move faster than she normally would, the sniper was right blaster bolts were slower than these bullets and it was thanks to her trained reflexes that she was able to block them all.

"You look disappointed," Satele said after removing the armor piece.

Whisper nodded, "A little. Is there any weakness to a lightsaber?"

"A few" Satele told her setting the armor down, "If it's completely submerged in water it will short out, although if it's modified a specific way it can function underwater. Then there are the parts that construct the lightsaber if they could be damaged or if the hilt is hit by a strong enough blow the pieces inside could be shaken loose. And lastly, there are some metals that are resistant to lightsabers such as cortosis. Although this metal is rare."

"I see," Whisper replied, "What does this metal do against lightsabers?"

"Well, it depends on its form. As an alloy, it is quite sturdy, but in its purified form it can disrupt and temporarily short out a lightsaber."

"If it can short out a lightsaber then why do we not use it when we fight against Sith?"

"Because the process of refining it is expensive, pure, unrefined cortosis is dangerously ionized, so anyone who touches it with their bare skin will die right away."

Whisper sighed, "I see. Thank you Satele I won't take up any more of your time."

"You are welcome. I hope we meet again one day, good luck on your future missions."

Whisper leaned back against the table behind her and thought about everything Satele had told her. Between the lightsaber and the force aiding them a Sith would be tough to combat let alone defeat. There had to be a way, though.

She stood less than seven feet from the Sith whose eyes openly expressed his desire to kill her. Taking a short breath, she steadied herself. She could feel his oppressive presence, the cold aura of darkness emanating from him and for the first time in years, she was afraid.

"I can sense your fear little girl," he said to her flourishing his weapon and making a feign leap forward, but Whisper refused to flinch.

"Paralyzed with fear are you?" he grinned, "A shame. You were brave enough to infiltrate our territory by yourself. I figured you would at least try to put up a fight."

Whisper forced her arm to move, and she drew her sidearm and aimed at the crimson-skinned alien whose grin widened.

"That's more like it. You will still die, but at least you will go out like a real soldier."

Using both hands, Whisper steadied her pistol and fired. The Sith raised his lightsaber and blocked the shot, but Whispered immediately fired again followed by a third shot and a fourth the sound of each shot echoing. The Sith waved his weapon around the red light flashing through the air as he blocked each shot and laughed at her, but his laughter ceased when a crackling sound came from his lightsaber, and the blade began flickering before turning off.

"What?" he gasped trying to switch it back on before looking at Whisper who had her gun leveled with his head.

"Cortosis shells," she said to him and pulled the trigger and watched as the Sith's head snapped back as the bullet burrowed into his skull killing him.

Once the Sith's body dropped Whisper returned her sidearm to its holster and got down on her stomach retrieving her rifle and checking on the Imperial outpost, soldiers and droids were scattering around the sound of her gunshots had alerted them. She swore in her mind as the Imperials began spreading out in groups to locate the source of the sound and her escape route would soon be covered. With her position and planned escape route about to be compromised she was prepared to shoulder her weapon and flee, but just before she moved to get up, she saw her target. Quickly lining her crosshairs on the Moff, she fired twice and watched his body drop and the Imperial soldiers around him swarmed to protect their downed commander. With her target down she slung her rifle over her shoulder and began running alongside the building toward her escape route and after ten minutes of running had escaped enemy territory.

"Mission complete" she panted contacting her commanding officer, "Confirmed kill on target."


	5. Cruise pt 1

Whisper crossed her arms under her breast as she looked around, glaring at the people surrounding her. This was no place for her, there was no reason for her to be here surrounded by Senators and CEOs and there was even less reason for her to be dressed the way she was. A formal dress with straps that ran over her shoulders allowing the velvet blue dress to hang itself over her, built in cups held her breasts up and the loose fitting skirt ended at her ankles completely concealing her from the waist down.

"What do you want Harlan?" she asked feeling the soldier behind her.

Harlan, dressed in a black formal attire of his own stood next to her holding his hands cupped behind his back, "You look like you're enjoying this even less than I am."

Whisper's eyes narrowed, her glare intensifying as she set her eyes on their commanding officer, "I should be out crawling through a battlefield somewhere setting my sights on another target, not wasting my time here."

"There's more to being a soldier than killing the enemy Whisper" Harlan told her, "But I kind of understand where you're coming from. This kind of thing feels so foreign to me; I have no idea what to do."

"Bother someone else" Whisper said, more of a command than a suggestion.

Harlan chuckled, "Harsh as ever. Did the Commander tell you about this or did he pull a fast one on you?"

Whisper shifted her glare to him, "Do you honestly believe I would be here if he was upfront with me?"

Harlan shook his head, "No guess not. There are a few high ranking members of our military here, but he wouldn't bring us along unless he was suspecting there would be trouble."

"A large luxury ship with most of the Republic senators and corporate leaders as well as a few generals" Whisper said, "A target like that tends to attract attention."

"True, but I don't think we'll run into any Imperials. Even pirates would be a long shot; we are in Republic space right now."

"That never stopped me" Whisper reminded him.

"Yes, but you are a sniper. You're meant to infiltrate enemy territory and assassinate a target."

Whisper returned her eyes to the people around them, "An assassin can come in any form. It could be dressed as a member of the wait staff or even a traitor in our own generals, or a Senator looking to make a power play or gain favor with the Empire."

"Paranoid much?" Harlan asked lightly elbowing her.

Whisper's glare flashed back to him as she twisted her wrist revealing a knife she had hidden in her hand.

Getting the message Harlan retreated a step, "Got it" he returned his gaze to those in the room, "Still though do you really think there would be a traitor or assassin here?"

"Anything is possible" Whisper replied quietly, "Except you being quiet or leaving me alone."

Harlan's shoulders sagged a bit, "Man you're extra aggressive today, its not that bad is it?"

"It is" Whisper told him, "And you're fascination with me makes it worse."

"What do you mean?" Harlan asked her taking two glasses of wine from a passing waiter's drink tray.

"I've seen the way you look at me" she told him, "After battles you always invite me to join you and your squad in your celebrations, or want to talk to me when I'm alone. Always asking questions about me even following me while pretending to be on other business."

"Just trying to be friendly" Harlan defended handing her one of the wine glasses only for Whisper to refuse.

"No what you're trying to do is have sex with me" she said, her tone remaining as quiet as ever, "Give it up and find some other woman to lust after."

"It's not like that" Harlan told her, "I mean sure you're attractive and all, but that's not why I try to learn more about you."

He set the two glasses down on the table behind them, "I just want to know why you are the way you are. Why you're always so quiet, why you hate the Imperials so much, why you became a sniper. You were a sniper killing Imperials long before the Republic military first heard of you so I can imagine they did something terrible to you, taking in your hate for them and how reserved you are I can make a few guesses as to what happened."

Whisper didn't answer him, her eyes continued to move from one person to the next as if she was studying each of them. The elder man on the far left of the room was sitting in a chair with one leg crossed over the other and leaning forward with his arm resting on his knee, his chin resting on his fist. He was dressed in an expensive looking red suit with gold trimmings and he was chatting with another young man wearing an indigo suit with a black dress shirt underneath. The one in the indigo suit would occasionally reach down to his hip, his suit pants seemed too loose to properly fit him, it was possible he was hiding something.

"Whisper" Harlan said slowly waving his hands in front of her face, "Did you hear me?"

"No I didn't" Whisper said still watching the man in the indigo suit.

Following her line of sight Harlan saw the two men she was staring at, "That's Alfonzo Tatum and Collin Coates" he told her, "Some big corporate CEOs. Apparently they make large donations to our Supreme Chancellor pretty often."

"Hurray" Whisper replied sarcastically, "Lobbyists. The one that's standing keeps reaching for his leg and his pants are too big for him, he might be concealing a weapon."

"Doubt it, but that is strange."

"Ah, Harlan, Whisper" a voice said from their flank.

The two turned around to see Jason West, their commanding officer behind them. A commander in the Republic military and one of the leaders of SpecForce Command, he was the one responsible for briefing and sending Whisper out on her various missions. Like Harlan and the other men around, he was dressed in a formal suit only his was pure white with a blue dress shirt underneath. He used to be a member of a special forces team before being promoted, a seasoned trooper who despite his age could still fight in the trenches of battle.

As Harlan saluted Commander West, Whisper glared at him still pissed that he had tricked her into coming.

"Still haven't forgiven me for bringing you here huh?" the commander asked her.

Whisper didn't answer him, instead she returned her eyes to the two men she was watching earlier. The one in the indigo suit pulled up one of his pant legs revealing a prosthetic leg underneath and Whisper assuming that was why he kept patting his leg and finally stopped watching him. Continuing to tune out Harlan and Commander West, she moved her eyes to some of the other people attending the gathering when she saw Satele Shan, the Jedi Knight she had met on Alderaan.

Continuing to ignore Harlan and Commander West, Whisper walked away from them and over to the Jedi she had become acquainted with. Sensing the soldier behind her, the Jedi turned around and greeted her with a bow. Unlike the people around her Satele was dressed in the robes of the Jedi instead of a dress, something Whisper envied.

"It is good to see you again Whisper" she said.

"Likewise" Whisper said quietly, "Why are you here? This doesn't seem like the kind of thing a Jedi would be involved with."

"Normally no" Satele answered, "But due to the recent turn the war has taken the Jedi Council has tasked a number of Jedi to protect important members of the Senate. There are a few other Jedi are here. I must confess I am surprised to see you here."

"Same situation" Whisper told her, "Commander West tricked me into coming to this ridiculous event. I should be crawling through a marsh or field right now setting my crosshairs on a target, not wasting my time here."

"You take your duty as a soldier seriously" the Jedi noted, "That is admirable, but I sense a deep hate in you. You despise the Empire."

Whisper glanced at her, "I do, I want to see them purged from the galaxy."

Satele turned to her, "What did they do to invoke such anger from you?"

Whisper didn't answer her, but the Jedi could sense the torrent of rage within the sniper's mind. Whatever happened in the past to cause her hatred for the Empire must have been traumatic for her, but that wasn't all the Jedi sensed. The Jedi could feel Whisper's desire to be in a battlefield or war zone somewhere there would be Imperials to kill.

Feeling Whisper's boundless hate for the Empire, Satele pushed further into her thoughts; beneath the hate she felt, sadness, pain and despair. Several dark emotions became a sea in the sniper's mind and the Jedi could only guess as to what caused it, but that's when she felt something push against her forcing her away from Whisper's thoughts. It felt almost like Satele was being shoved from the sniper's mind, again and again something pushed at her forcing her back and as she tried to stand against it, it only became stronger until Satele finally realized what it was and ceased her efforts.

Whisper raised her hand and massaged her forehead, closing her eyes for a brief moment. Satele watched her she seemed unaware that the Jedi had probed her mind, but there was no mistaking it, Whisper was the one that forced Satele from her mind. Whisper noticed the way the Jedi was looking at her and lowered her arm returning her eyes to the people around them.

"You want to ask me something else?" she assumed based on Satele's gaze.

"I do" Satele said fully turning to face her, "I wanted to know if you have ever felt strange, like if you ever heard another voice within you that you could not really hear trying to guide you to something."

Whisper raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

Satele continued, "I am beginning to believe the two of us met for a reason. We were destined to meet."

Whisper's lips twitched into a smirk before returning to their original position, "I didn't know you were into other women Jedi. Sorry, but I'm not interested in entering that kind of relationship with anyone, male or female."

"That's not what I meant" Satele replied, her face remaining stoic, "I can feel the Force within you. It is stronger than it is in most people."

Whisper shook her head, "No offense Satele, but I don't understand or need your Jedi magic to succeed in my missions. My skills and instincts are all I need."

"The Force is in all living things" Satele told her, "Including everyone here, people everywhere, plants and animals. Even if they cannot hear or feel it, it is within them. You are no exception."

Whisper did not answer as Satele continued, "I can feel it is stronger in you than most ordinary people. Tell me have you ever felt like your reflexes are faster than most?"

"I have weathered many climates and environments" Whisper answered, "I have adapted to different situations long before I was trained by the Republic. My reflexes are faster because of these experiences not because of some mystical power."

"That may be true" Satele said sensing the sniper's annoyance, "But I wonder if you are capable of using it."

"If I was" Whisper began once again returning her eyes to the people around them, "I would use it to kill my enemies."

"The Force is not a weapon" Satele told her, "It is alive and guides us through life."

"The Sith you fight seem to think differently" Whisper reminded her, "Regardless of what it may be, if I possessed such an ability I would only have one use for it."

"Hate and anger lead to the dark side" Satele told her, "One should not use the Force in such a way."

"You were the one who brought it up" Whisper said, "I'm a sniper, not a Jedi. My job is to eliminate the targets given to me. Did you expect anything different?"

"Forgive me" Satele said turning away from her, "I allowed myself to forget that not everyone thinks the way the Jedi do. Many of the Republic's soldiers are driven by anger and hate. I can only hope when the time comes you and them can show mercy and stay your hand should you need to."

Whisper raised her hand and covered her mouth as she yawned, "I hate this."

Satele continued to look around, "We should be arriving at Coruscant within a few hours. I doubt there will be any trouble this close to the Core Worlds, feel free to get some rest."

Whisper turned to leave, but stopped looking at the Jedi one last time, "Satele."

"Yes?"

"That assistance you gave me that day really helped. I was able to kill a Sith thanks to the information you gave me, so thank you."

Again the Jedi bowed to her, "You are welcome, I am happy you survived such an encounter."

Whisper nodded, leaving and returning to the room Commander West had reserved for her during this trip. The Republic had managed to capture several worlds and systems, pushing the Empire back as they gained territory and with those victories many worlds allied themselves with the Republic, so this cruise was kind of like a victory tour. Many of the people on board were senators and business owners who were now free from the Empire's control, of course that did not make Whisper feel any better about being tricked into coming.

She was thankful the commander was thoughtful enough to reserve a private cabin for her, though she still hated that he made her wear formal attire. Harlan did not seem to mind as much, but he did admit he was out of his element. As much as she disliked him for it Whisper understood why the commander brought her along. In the unlikely event there was trouble he wanted a capable soldier there to defend the people on board, Harlan was a good choice after all he was a superb soldier, but why did she have to come as well. A sniper like her would not be effective in such a small environment, she had some training in hand to hand combat and she was almost as good with her sidearm as she was with her rifle, but that didn't mean there weren't other who would be better at this sort of thing.

Taking the velvet dress off and putting on more casual clothes Whisper laid down on her bed, "There is no reason I should have been brought along for this" she said to herself.

"There are other people more qualified for something like this, people like Harlan and even Satele" she thought about the trooper and Jedi and began to wonder why she talked to them as much as she did.

"I hardly say two words to anyone" she muttered, "But those two I actually talk to. Harlan is a good soldier, a great soldier, but he annoys me. Satele is alright I guess."

She turned onto her side facing the door, sliding her hand and sidearm under her pillow as she closed her eyes. She spoke more to Harlan and Satele today than she had to anyone in most of the past year, something about those two made her say more than she normally would. Then again she did not know that many people she knew names and that was it, though she did not care for forming any kind of relationship with anyone as acquaintances, friends or otherwise, she just wasn't a people person. All she cared about was her next mission and her next target and seeing the Empire annihilated for what it took from her.


	6. Cruise pt 2

"I'll check this room, you take that one" a voice had said.

"This is taking forever" another said.

Whisper opened her eyes; someone was outside her door talking. Slowly pulling her pistol out from under her pillow she silently slid off her bed pulling the blanket back to a flat position before silently laying on her stomach before sliding under the bed her gun held tightly in her hand as she flicked the safety switch off. She heard the door to her room slide open and a pair of heavy steps entered, and walked around the bed.

"No one here" a male voice said, "How about your room?"

"Nothing" another male voice said, "Alright let's move on to the next ones."

"Why bother?" the voice next to her asked, "We've been through two decks already and not a single person to be found, I'm willing to bet we got everybody on board up in that party room and on the bridge."

"And the engineering deck" the voice from the other room said, "But we have our orders, we need to make sure, but if you'd rather disappoint Lord Fankir be my guest, you know how those crazy Sith get when they're angry."

"Let's just hurry up" the voice next to her said, "This is pissing me off."

Waiting for her door to close Whisper gently lifted the skirt of her bed to make sure the intruders were gone, they had said something about a Sith. Crawling out from under her bed she crept over toward the locker next to her bed retrieving her rifle. There was a dark presence on the ship, she could feel it. Slinging her rifle over her shoulder she reached for her suppressor next, she crouched on one knee hiding behind her bed as she screwed the device on the end of the pistol's barrel.

Creeping over to the door to her room she crouched next to it waiting for it to open before peering out into the corridor. She could hear the two intruders in one of the rooms further down the hall, they were searching for people on the ship by the sound of it. She stayed low as she peered around the corner, she saw the emblem of the Imperial Navy on the shoulders of the two men, the Empire had infiltrated the ship.

"I'm surprised it was this easy" one of the two said, "Never thought it would work."

"Don't underestimate those spies of ours" the other voice said, "They are masters of infiltration and espionage, even assassination if the mission calls for it."

"Still though" the other replied, "Pretending to be a waiter on the ship and spiking all the drinks with a heavy sedative. That had to take a long time. Not to mention not getting caught while doing it, but also ensuring that the spiked drinks went out at the right time. I don't know, to me it seems like too many variables to account for."

"That's why their spies and we're the foot soldiers" the other had said, "But you do have to admit it was pretty damn impressive."

"Hell yeah it was. Now we have an entire ship to hold hostage and it's filled with senators, rich snobs and military commanders. This will be a crushing loss for the Republic."

"That's if we kill them. Lord Fankir might want to keep them alive for some reason or another."

"Not like it matters, this is a pretty solid victory for us."

"Not if we don't clear every room. All it takes is one missed person to cause our plan to fall apart."

"True, but it's not like it matters we'll be jumping to hyperspace soon anyway."

"I'd rather be sure, these rooms are clear let's keep going we're almost done with this floor."

Whisper ducked back into her room and closed the door, the Empire had managed to sneak a spy on board and all the drinks were spiked with a sedative. Whisper didn't have one so she was fine, but almost everyone she saw earlier had a drink at one point or another during the night. She knew Commander West had one, but what about Harlan and Satele, was she on her own.

Stepping out of her room again she stayed low as she crept down the hall, slowly catching up to the two Imperials as the checked the last of the rooms. She stayed in the center of the hall to avoid making the motion detectors of the doors open, the sound would alert the Imperials. As she approached one of the last two rooms she peered inside, the one checking this room had his back to her. Slipping around the corner she crept up behind him and stood up covering his mouth as she placed the barrel of her gun against the back of his skull and pulled the trigger.

The suppressor on her gun muffled the sound of the expelled gas and she watched the back of the soldier's head cave in as the bullet penetrated his skull before coming out the other side accompanied by the sound of blood splattering across the wall. Pulling back on the body she slowly lowered it to the floor as the soldier in the other room continued to talk. Creeping back toward the doorway she got down on one knee and held her pistol up and waited.

"Cutler, you still there?" the other soldier said, "Answer me, did you find anything?"

She heard footsteps from the other room, he was coming toward her.

"Hey Cutler, what the hell" the soldier yelled before his last word was cut short.

Leveling her sights on her target she pulled her trigger again and the bullet shot through the side of the Imperial's skull driving through his brain before exiting the other side. The soldier's body leaned toward the wall before falling forward with a heavy thud. Holstering her sidearm Whisper dragged the body fully inside the room hiding both of them behind the bed before taking one of their comlinks and disabling their holocommunicators. Drawing her weapon again she crept out of the room and toward the lift.

Pressing the button to take her to the main hall she climbed out of the emergency hatch on the ceiling she steadied herself on top of the lift as it went up. Activating the comlink and turning the volume down she listened to the voices of the other Imperials. Everyone they had captured was being held together in the main hall of the ship and they were about to jump to hyperspace and head for the Empire's territory.

"Korriban" Whisper muttered, "That will take a few hours, that gives me time to do something."

The lift stopped before reaching the main hall and a trio of Imperial soldiers stepped on, "Lieutenant do you copy?" one of them said.

"Go ahead" a female voice replied from the comlinks.

"This is squad four, we've finished searching the crew decks all clear."

"Excellent" the female voice replied, "We're still waiting to hear from squad two on the passenger decks, they are taking a while. I want your team to go down there and check on them, if their not done help them in their search I don't want a single person missed."

"Yes ma'am" the soldier said before stopping the lift and sending it back to the passenger deck.

"Squad two do you copy?" the same soldier said into his comlink causing Whisper's to go off, "Squad two are you there? Cutler, Rory respond."

Whisper cracked the emergency hatch just enough to listen to the soldier talk to his squad, "Something must have happened, weapons hot we clear the rooms one by one as a team until we find them understood?"

"Yes Sergeant" the other two said.

"Why was the lift heading up to the main hall?" one of them asked when they stopped at the first level of the passenger decks.

"Maybe squad two was about to use it?"

The squad leader stepped off, "Maybe, but I got a feeling something happened to them. Start checking rooms."

When the lift doors closed behind them Whisper dropped down and readied her sidearm, it was three against one in close quarters. The bullets in her sidearm could penetrate their armor, but it would take multiple shots to the body to drop one, then there were the blaster rifles they were carrying. If the split up she could pick them off, but they were staying together leaving the odds stacked against her.

It was too risky, this close she didn't like her chances. Once again she pressed the button for the main hall and climbed through the emergency hatch again and waited. When the lift arrived at the main hall Whisper holstered her sidearm and grabbed the ladder that ran along the wall of the shaft and climbed up toward the ventilation ducts. The ducts leading to the main hall were much wider than the rest of the ship to better cool or heat the large room, so she was easily able to fit into one of them.

Crawling through the duct she reached the main hall and looked down, she was on the south east wall and about seven meters from the floor. Scanning the room she saw the hostages all gathered in the center with a group of troopers sitting at the tables watching them. Peering through the scope of her rifle she saw the hostages were all still unconscious, but they had all been restrained together. The three Imperials sitting at the table watching them were wearing armor and armed with blaster rifles, she could take them down, but she didn't have a good angle on them from where she was.

Crawling backwards she moved to one of the vents that branched off from the main path and circled around the main hall checking each vent for a good vantage point.

"Squad four here" a voice from her comlink said, "First passenger deck clear no word or sign from squad two, moving on to passenger deck two."

It only took that team four minutes to clear the whole floor, at that rate it would only take eight more to finish scouring the other two, but it would only take four or five minutes for them to discover the bodies she hid on deck two. She had to hurry, she had to free the hostages now, once those two bodies were discovered they would heighten security. She could try to make her way to the bridge, that's most likely where their leader was, if Whisper took her down that would disorganize them.

She shook her head. No, if they were unable to contact their leader they might kill some of the hostages, then again one of the soldiers she killed said that a Sith wanted them alive, but should she take that chance. Again she shook her head, no she had to save the people below her first having Harlan and Commander West awake and on her side would help even the odds even if she risked alerting the ones in charge.

Crawling around to the west wall she had a good angle on the Imperials, but she didn't have a suppressor on her rifle, if anyone was outside the main hall they would definitely hear the shot. That was a risk she would have to take. Silently pushing the vent cover open she set her rifle at the edge of the vent and closed one eye, peering through her scope. She had a clean shot through one of them that would also kill the second, but he sat down taking away her chance to kill two with one shot. She could kill them before they had a chance to react, there was nothing to provide sufficient cover for them if they were to scramble.

"All teams this is Lieutenant Nelis, report in" a female voice said from her comlink.

"Squad one standing by in the main hall, all hostages are still out cold."

"Squad three we're in engineering. A few of the crew fought back, they've been neutralized, four fatalities, two captured."

"Squad four halfway done with passenger deck two, still no sign of squad two."

"I don't like this" the female Lieutenant said, "I want everyone on high alert, report to me the moment you see anything."

"Squad four copy."

"Squad three, roger."

"Squad one, understood."

"Wish we had a deck of cards or something" one of the soldiers said, "This waiting around is so boring. Wish I could at least have a drink."

"Sorry, there's no way to tell which ones left on the table are spiked. Besides we'll be done here soon."

"What do you think happened to squad two? Do you think someone managed to hide and take them out?"

"It's possible, but even if they did there's no way they can do anything to stop us. All escape pods have been disabled, we're in hyperspace and on our way to Korriban."

"True, honestly I wouldn't mind if Rory turned up dead. I never liked him."

"No one did. The only reason he made it as far as he did is because of his father's connections."

One of the soldiers yawned and stood up, "Dammit this bites. I wish one of them would at least wake up."

"They're going to be out for another few minutes Crag, just be patient we're almost done."

The one that stood up walked stretched out his arms and legs and walked around the table, "So Hill, how's that girl of yours doing?"

"Good last I heard. I'm actually going on leave once we get back to Korriban. I'm going to catch a shuttle back to Dromund Kass to see her."

"How long have you two been together now?"

"Two years. I think she's the one you know."

The standing soldier walked over to his comrade and patted him on the shoulder, "Good man, just be sure to let us know so we can throw a party."

Whisper watched the soldier stand next to his ally, there were aligned enough that her shot would go through them both if she angled it right. Pushing her shoulders up she tilted her rifle aiming at the standing soldier's neck and pulled the trigger, the bullet flying through the first soldier's neck snapping his spine before exiting the other side and entering the sitting soldier's throat ripping his trachea apart as they both fell against the table dead. The third soldier jumped when he heard the loud shot echo and he jumped again when he saw his comrades both die in an instant, he reached for him comlink, but Whisper's sights were already on him and with another pull of the trigger she shot him in the head, killing him.

"Squad three, shots heard from the main hall" a female voice panicked over the comlink, "Two shots fired, squad one report."

The doors of the main hall flew open and a pair of soldiers charged in weapons raised, their eyes immediately falling on their dead comrades.

"What the hell happened?" the female soldier yelled before Whisper shot her in the chest killing her.

"York" the male soldier yelled before Whisper shot him as well.

"Squad three report" the voice of the female lieutenant demanded, "Squad three, squad one. Someone answer me."

"Squad four reporting in, we've found Cutler and Rory, they're both dead."

"Dammit we missed someone" the lieutenant growled, "All squads converge on the main hall at once set your weapons to stun, only kill them if you have."

Whisper dropped down from the vent tucking her legs in and rolling as she landed. Running over to the group of hostages she freed them of their restraints and slapped Harlan and Commander West across the face, waking them.

"Whisper?" Harlan groaned, "What happened?"

"The Empire had a spy on board" Whisper told them tossing them both a blaster rifle, "They spiked all the drinks with sedatives and took over while everyone was out. Right now we're in hyperspace on our way to Korriban."

"What?" Commander West snapped, "Dammit, how long until we get there?"

"About two and half hours maybe" Whisper told him, "I wasn't able to take those guys out quietly we're going to have company, get ready."

"Dammit" Harlan growled before running over to a table and flipping it over for cover, "Commander, allow me to thank you for bringing me along for this fiasco."

"Stow it Captain" West ordered, "Just get ready to fight. Whisper help me set some tables around the others. We have to protect them from any stray shots."

"Their leader told them to set their weapons to stun" Whisper told them, "After what I've done, I doubt they'll listen."

Dragging a table over to the rest of the hostages and flipping it over to form a wall, that when Whisper saw Satele Shan among the hostages. Grabbing her shoulder Whisper shook her, yelling her name.

"Whisper?" the Jedi mumbled as her eyes opened.

Whisper could tell the Empire drugged her more than the others, Harlan and Commander West both woke much faster, but Satele seemed to have trouble just keeping her eyes open.

"Satele get up" Whisper told her, "You've been drugged. Imperials have taken over the ship."

"Can't focus" Satele muttered, "I will help as best I can."

"Squad four on the main deck" a voice said from Whisper's comlink, "Squad five on main deck."

"I've sent word to our fleet at Korriban, they are waiting for us. I want them alive" the lieutenant demanded.

"Hear they come" Harlan yelled just before the first Imperial trooper entered the room firing a stun blast that hit the table Harlan was behind.

Standing up Harlan fired two shots into the chest of the trooper killing him before ducking back down as the rest of the Imperials swarmed into the room. Whisper dived behind another table and flipped it over, drawing fire away from the hostages, sliding the scope off her rifle she set her weapon at the edge of the table and gazed down the sights before pulling the trigger killing one of the troopers. There were six in total, now there were four. Commander West leaned out from his cover and fired missing his first shot, but his next two hit their target in the arm stunning him long enough for Whisper to get a headshot on him leaving three.

"Fall back" one of the troopers yelled before Harlan shot and killed him, but the other two managed to retreat back outside the hall.

"Three hostiles inside the main hall" one of the soldiers yelled into his comlink, "There are only two of us left everyone else is down."

"What about the Jedi?" the lieutenant asked.

"They set up a wall of tables around the hostages I can't confirm if the Jedi is awake or not."

The lieutenant swore, "Make sure no one leaves that room we must keep them contained until we arrive at Korriban."

Satele groaned as she tried to get up, but fell to her knees. Whisper keeping her rifle trained on the door walked over to Satele and kneeled next to her.

"We must not make it to Korriban" she managed to say, "I sense a terrible darkness waiting for us."

"Easy" Whisper told her, "Breathe. As far as I can tell there are only three enemies left, two outside and one on the bridge. We kill them and drop out of hyperspace before we make it to Korriban and jump back to Republic space."

"Hurry" Satele muttered stumbling again, "The Sith waiting for us, I cannot face him in my current state."

Whisper left Satele behind the barrier her and the commander set up and ran to join Harlan and West.

"We have to get to the bridge" Commander West told them.

"Shouldn't be too difficult" Harlan said, "Since they haven't tried to attack us again it's safe to assume the two out there and the one on the bridge are the only three left."

"Let's go" West said raising his rifle and moving to the left side of the door while Whisper moved to the right side with Harlan preparing to charge out to draw their fire.

As the commander counted down with his hands Whisper felt something strange, she could feel the two soldiers outside, they were a few meters away from the doors on either side. They were waiting for them, Whisper could feel their position both down on one knee with the weapons aimed at the doorway ready to fire at the first thing that moved. Waving her hands Whisper motioned for Harlan and West to back away from the doors as she did, the three of them falling back to their original position.

"What is it?" the commander asked.

"You're plan won't work" Whisper told him, "They're waiting for us, they have perfect positioning. They'll take out Harlan before we get a shot off and then they'll take us next."

"Any ideas?" Harlan asked her, "Because unless we've got a way to make some moving cover we're going to have to risk it."

Whisper looked at two of the overturned tables, "Those. Use those as cover, I'll be in the middle, push them out of the door as I move and I'll be safe from their shots. Once they shoot at me you two lean around the corner and shoot to draw their fire then I'll duck out and eliminate one of them then you two take the other."

"Well the tables are light enough to move around" Harlan said, "I don't really see any other options unless one of you is hiding a grenade in your pants."

"Let's do it" the commander agreed grabbing one table as Harlan took hold of another.

Crouching between the two tables Whisper moved quickly as Harlan and West pushed the tables out of the doors the two Imperials outside immediately firing. Whisper could feel them, she could tell how far they were from her and the angle she would need to hold her rifle to hit them.

"Now" West yelled and he and Harlan both leaned out from the doorway and fired blindly down either side of the hall.

Whisper stood up, her rifle already aimed and her sights leveled on the Imperial that had gone prone to avoid the blind blaster fire. The rifle jerked back against Whisper's shoulder as it fired and the projectile round bored its way through the top of the Imperial's skull tunneling its way down through his brain before becoming lost somewhere in his chest area. Falling back behind her cover Whisper watched West blind fire around the corner again as Harlan crept over to Whisper motioning for her to lean out from the side of the table when he stood up. On Harlan's three he jumped up and fired down the hall and Whisper fell to her side leaning out from the cover of the table and firing at the Imperial a few meters from them.

"We're clear" Harlan said watching the Imperial die from Whisper's headshot.

"Good job you two" West said.

Whisper turned onto her stomach and pushed herself up unaware of the way Harlan was looking at her backside.

"We should get moving" West said, "Once we take the bridge we can get out of this mess."

Rushing into the bridge all at once the three trained their weapons on the female lieutenant that was waiting for them, she also had a weapon aimed at them.

"So you're the one" she said looking at Whisper, "You were the only one that wasn't with the others when we took the ship. How did you get away?"

"I don't drink" Whisper answered blankly.

The lieutenant grinned, "Even if you kill me you won't survive what's coming next. I've locked the hyperdrive and reprogrammed the navcomputer to only respond to my voice. I may die here, but you will all."

A gunshot silenced her words as Whisper shot the blaster pistol from her hand. The weapon was forced from her hand so hard it tore the skin on her palm causing her to bleed as she recoiled and clutched at her injury. Harlan charged forward after Whisper fired, tackling the female lieutenant and restraining her as West walked over to the navcomputer.

"Dammit, she wasn't bluffing" he said, "Its locked."

Whisper slung her rifle over her shoulder and drew her sidearm, driving the barrel of the suppressor against the lieutenant's throat.

"Unlock it" she demanded coldly.

"Never" the lieutenant spat.

"Unlock it or I will put the bullets into your body by hand" Whisper growled.

"Look" Harlan said as he kept the lieutenant restrained, "Unlock it and we'll take you back to Coruscant as a prisoner, that way you get to live. Refuse our offer and you'll die here."

"I serve the Empire" she told them refusing to struggle against Harlan's hold, "It is my duty and an honor to die for."

Her next words never came as Whisper finally having enough slammed the butt of her gun across her face knocking her out.

Harlan let the Imperial drop to the floor before looking at Whisper, "I'm surprised you didn't shoot her."

"Day's not over yet" Whisper said sliding the pistol back into its holster, "Do we have time to fix the navcomputer?"

"Maybe" West replied, "Harlan help me out, you work on unlocking the hyperdrive and I'll try to undo her override on the navcomputer."

While West and Harlan went to work Whisper took off the Imperial lieutenant's belt and used it to bind her hands.

"I'm in" Harlan said, "The hyperdrive is unlocked, waiting on you Commander."

"Almost" West said, "Just give me another minute."

"We are running out of time" a weak voice said from the doorway.

Turning around Whisper saw Satele leaning against the wall, the sedative was finally wearing off, but the Jedi still seemed like she would double over any second.

"We'll be fine" Harlan told her, "We have to be" he muttered to himself.

"Here" Whisper said handing Satele her lightsaber, "The lieutenant had it."

Satele thanked her, "I fear it won't do us much good if we make it to Korriban."

"Got it" West yelled, "I'm in control, brace yourselves, we're doing a blind drop."

Harlan pulled back on the hyperdrive lever causing the cruise ship to drop from hyperspace into the Ziost system in the Outer Rim.

"No Imperial ships detected nearby" Harlan said, "Programming in coordinates for Coruscant, here we go."

Pushing the hyperdrive lever forward the cruise ship once again jumped to hyperspace and the group breathed easy, they were on their way home, they had survived.


	7. Boxed In

The ground shook as another volley of artillery hammered the bunker, Whisper sat against the wall her rifle propped up between her legs and resting against her shoulder. Their mission had gone south, the Intel they received was wrong and now they were making their last stand in a bunker that was moments away from a cave-in. This mission was doomed from the start.

"Hope your ready" a male voice said to her as the bunker shook again.

Whisper opened her eyes, looking up at the burly, dark skinned commando in front f her, his brown eyes afire with determination as he shouldered his rifle and nodded for her to get up and follow him.

"We've got a plan" he said before walking back to the rest of the team.

Whisper opened her hand staring at the last clip of rounds she had. Planting the butt of her rifle she used it to push herself up and slipped the bullets back into her supply pouch as she joined the rest of the squad. She could hear the stone and steel around them straining with each hit, it wouldn't be long now; they had to make this last round count.

"You're being deployed to Balmorra again" Commander West told her as she stood in his office, "The Empire is making a push to reclaim it. We just took control of that system we cannot lose it again. Our forces are getting annihilated out there so we need to put an end to this battle as soon as possible, so I'm deploying you alongside a commando squad to sneak into the enemy's territory and take them out."

"I prefer to work alone" Whisper reminded him.

West nodded, "I know, but we're sending our best on this one and that includes you. I assure you the squad you'll be working with won't slow you down in any way. In fact you might have trouble keeping up with them."

He sat at his desk, "We don't have a lot of time so you need to hurry. You'll meet the commando squad on the ship. Good luck Whisper."

Whisper turned around without a reply walking out of the office and making her way to the spaceport where a shuttle was waiting to take her to the Halcyon, a battle-cruiser filled to the brim with artillery, troops and vehicles all headed for Balmorra. Stepping off the shuttle Whisper looked around the hangar, tanks and walkers and drop ships covered nearly every foot of the hangar. Most of the troopers were waiting in their ships because of the lack of space. From what she heard the Halcyon wasn't the only ship heading out, it was a fleet a dozen cruisers strong, all filled to capacity. West had understated the importance of this battle if this was their response to it.

At the end of the crowded hangar she saw an Imperial shuttle with only a single trooper working on it. The shuttle was covered in scorch marks, and multiple bends and dents all along the hull and the emblem of the Empire eclipsed by the burn of a laser's impact. Despite its damaged appearance it looks serviceable, but why have it on the ship?

"You the sniper?" a male voice asked from her flank.

Looking to her left Whisper laid her eyes a male Cathar in heavy armor. His green eyes moved to the rifle on her back and he nodded to the side telling her to follow him.

"I'm Aric Jorgan" he said, "Lieutenant of Havoc Squad, Commander West said he was sending his best sniper with us. You had better be as good as your reputation would claim."

The Cathar led her to the damaged Imperial shuttle once closer she saw a squad of trooper wearing the same armor and emblem Jorgan was.

"Commander Tavus" the Cathar said standing at attention, "Commander West's sniper has arrived."

"Finally" a human male said stepping off the shuttle and walking over to them.

Tall, fair skinned and a heavy glare in his eyes Whisper knew he was a man of experience. The other members of the squad looked to her as well each of them sizing her up as if they doubted she would be any use to them or their mission. A female Mirialan, a burly, dark skinned human male working on the shuttle, a male Zabrak and another human male with a several cybernetic enhancements on his face, most notably his eye.

"So you're Whisper?" the one named Tavus asked to which Whisper nodded, "Well you don't look like much, but Commander West says you're his best so welcome aboard. I'm Harron Tavus, Commander of Havoc Squad. Let me introduce you to the team."

He started with the Cathar, "You already met Aric Jorgan" he pointed to the female Mirialan, "This is Zora AKA Wraith."

He pointed to the dark skinned man repairing the shuttle, "That's Bex Kolos, AKA Gearbox" he turned to the Zabrak and human, "And that's Vanto Bazren AKA Fuse. And Ryler Dorant AKA Needles. Welcome to Havoc Squad soldier."

Tavus turned back to Whisper, "Did Commander West tell you what our mission is?"

Whisper nodded, "We're infiltrating enemy territory and causing as much damage as possible while the rest of our forces fight them head on."

"It's more than that" Tavus told her, "Intel says one of the Empire's top generals will be there, General Ryker. The man is solely responsible for dozens of Empire victories across the galaxy; Intel suggests he is on Balmorra to personally oversee the deployment of a new type of weapon. We're to find out what it is, obtain any information on it, destroy the weapon and kill or capture Ryker."

Whisper didn't answer; she looked up at the Imperial shuttle.

"This is our infiltration strategy" Tavus told her, "Once the battle starts above Balmorra we're going to use this to slip through the fight pretending to be a damaged craft. Their radars will ping us as friendly when they see us crashing, but we'll actually be landing west of their lines. From their we'll start making our way towards their artillery which lines the nearby ridge, we take that out then we move on to the local command post, taking out everyone in our way and gathering what information we can."

"Alright we're all set" Gearbox said stepping away from the shuttle, "I made it looked as banged up as possible without compromising the flight and control systems."

Tavus looked at his squad, "Alright Havoc make your final preparations now, once we get the green light we're heading out. I want everyone ready."

He looked to Whisper, "You ready soldier?"

Whisper nodded and stepped onto the shuttle while the rest of the team went about their preparations. She already had her equipment squared away, her rifle loaded and strapped to her back with her sling resting over her shoulder. Her sidearm securely holstered against her right leg and her knife sheathed on her left shoulder. Three packs clipped to her belt held extra ammunition for her rifle and side arm while the three packs on the right side held multiple explosives.

She watched Havoc Squad go about their preparations, checking their equipment and supplies. She had heard the name Havoc Squad, one of if not the best commando unit in the Republic's military then again Commander West did tell her they were sending in their best to make sure Balmorra stayed under Republic control. The roles of the squad members were obvious based off their codenames, Needles was the medic, Fuse was demolitions, and Gearbox was their mechanic. Considering that Jorgan was assembling a long range blaster rifle Whisper concluded he was a sniper like her, but Wraith's role was unclear.

Tavus approached her, "Alright let me fill you in on who does what."

Whisper looked to each of the team members except Wraith naming their roles before telling Tavus their codenames gave it away.

"Alright so you're observant and quick on the uptake" Tavus nodded, "Good. That just leaves Wraith; she's out infiltration and assassination expert. Jorgan used to be part of a sniper detachment called the Deadeyes, ever heard of them?"

Whisper nodded, "When the Republic first recruited me they wanted to make me part of the Deadeyes, I refused."

Tavus nodded, "Commander West did say you prefer to work alone, that's fine, but today's mission is a team effort so follow my orders and we'll get through this just fine."

Whisper remained silent as Tavus went back to his squad; once their preparations were finished they all boarded the shuttle with Gearbox taking the pilot's seat. Whisper remained silent while the squad made small talk as they waited for the Halcyon to come out of hyperspace. It was clear this team was tight, the members more than familiar with each other each of them completely trustful and loyal to the others. Whisper was never part of a squad; most of her missions were solo, only a few had a spotter watching her back.

A month ago she had fought alongside Commander West and Harlan to take back a cruise ship they were on. The ship had been hijacked and was on its way to Korriban where some Sith Lord would be waiting for them, but they managed to divert course and drop out of hyperspace in the Ziost system. Ziost was well within the Empire's territories, but they managed to get out undetected. It was rare for Whisper to work with others, but it was effective.

The cruiser's klaxon sounded and the hangar lights turned red alerting the crew to prepare for battle as the Admiral's voice echoed over the sounding alarm. The Halcyon was preparing to drop from hyperspace and enter battle. Havoc and Whisper watched as the troopers in the hangar scrambled to their squads and ships getting ready for the green light into action.

"This is it Havoc" Tavus yelled as the shuttle doors closed, "Its going to get bumpy, for the sake of our cover once we launch our fighters will target us, but they won't shoot to kill. Once we get some distance and look like we're out of control they'll back off as we begin our descent. Once we land we'll need to move quickly in case the Imperials send out a retrieval party, Fuse are your charges ready?"

The Zabrak nodded, "Yes Commander."

Tavus nodded back, "Good, once we land Fuse and I will set some charges while the rest of you spread out and scan the area. When we're clear of the shuttle Fuse will blow it to make it look like it crashed and exploded that way if the enemy sends out a rescue party they'll assume the crew died. Gearbox be sure to put on a good show."

Gearbox yelled back, "Roger Commander."

The ship's alarm sounded again and the hangar lit up in a green light and one by one the ships in the hangar began launching into battle, first the fighters followed by the drop ships and transports until only Havoc's stolen shuttle was left. Seconds felt like minutes as they waited, they had to make sure the battle had a good start before they launched. The shuttle was so silent Whisper could hear the individual member's slow exhales as they steeled themselves for what was coming.

"This is it" Gearbox yelled as the bay door below them opened and their shuttle took off, "It got hot real quick, everyone hold on."

Whisper closed her eyes, she could feel the battle raging outside. It felt chaotic, like two swarms of insects attacking each other it was all noise and static, but she could feel it. An Imperial fighter flew past them trying to provide cover for its damaged ally, the closer the ships were the more clear she could sense them, maybe Satele was right. The Jedi had told her she had the Force in her, despite Whisper's initial denial she was starting to believe it. Though she had no intention of donning a robe and becoming some kind of mystical monk with a laser sword she did acknowledge that the Force would make her a better sniper, the only issue was the Jedi would object to teaching her to use the Force just so she could use it to kill.

"We've entered the upper atmosphere" Gearbox yelled, "Course set for enemy lines, two minutes to impact."

"This is it Havoc" Tavus said, "Just another day at the office."

"Incoming message from the Imperial command post" Gearbox said.

"Shuttle X7K212 what is your status?"

Gearbox cleared his throat and answered, "Engine and wings damaged, can't regain control."

"Can you and your crew eject?"

"Negative" Gearbox yelled, "Doors are malfunctioning we can't get them open. I'm trying to set us down as best I can."

"Roger that pilot" the voice said somberly, "We'll track you and send out a rescue party, good luck."

"Looks like they bought it" Jorgan said.

"Just to be sure, we need to hurry once we land" Wraith said.

"Speaking of which" Gearbox cut in, "You guys might want to brace yourselves."

Gearbox angled the shuttle to avoid a nosedive crash, but to sell their story they had to skid across the ground before coming to a stop. The underside of the shuttle hit first the hull grinding as it slid across the surface before they finally stopped. Tavus pulled the doors open and yelled for the squad to move out with him and Gearbox being the last off.

Whisper held her rifle tight against her shoulder as she scanned the ridge line above them; to her right was Needles and Wraith to her left Jorgan and Gearbox, the four of them covering Fuse and Tavus as they set their charges. They were in a terrible position, they were completely open. If the enemy had any units in this area they would be dead within minutes, low ground and no cover, there had to be a better place to land than this.

"Charges set" Tavus yelled, "Move, move."

Lowering her rifle Whisper ran forward putting as much distance between her and the shuttle as she could.

"Burn it Fuse" Tavus yelled.

The charges went off and the shuttle jumped before the explosion caused a chain reaction that tore through the ship completely destroying it.

"Alright, Havoc on me" Tavus yelled running for the trail leading up to the ridge.

Stopping at a good vantage point Tavus got down on one knee and looked down at the wreckage of their shuttle just before Jorgan pointed out a rescue shuttle inbound.

"Wraith, Jorgan, Whisper set up" Tavus ordered.

The three snipers got down and rested their rifles against the rocks peering through their scopes as the rescue shuttle landed near the wreckage and began investigating.

"Looks good" Jorgan said, "They're assuming the crew died in the explosion, but they're searching the area to be sure."

"Weapons cold" Tavus told them, "If they don't report back the enemy will get suspicious. Come on; let's move stay low and alert. Gearbox take point."

Whisper followed Havoc along the ridgeline they were covered, but it was nearly impossible for them to see anything below them and the pass only got more treacherous as the moved. It was nearly an hour before they crossed and descended the mountain, now they were definitely in dangerous territory. Stopping at the last ledge looking down into the valley Tavus turned to Jorgan and motioned for him to keep an eye on the enemy base while he briefed the squad.

"OK here's the plan" he said getting down on one knee and using his knife to draw in the dirt, "I'll take Gearbox, Needles and Fuse and take the direct route to the bunker. Wraith you take Jorgan and Whisper and take the next trail leading to the high ground, scan the trenches, scan the ridges eliminate any snipers and try to clear a path for us. We need to remain undetected for as long as possible so keep a low profile and stay quiet. Wraith, once your team establishes over watch I'll take my team and come in from the east gate, we'll drop into the trenches and make our way through, we want to clear out everyone before we move on to the bunker. Once we've secured the area the three of you will repel down and regroup with us then we move inside the bunker, find Ryker and this weapon of his eliminate it and get out. Understand?"

The team nodded and once again they were on the move. Reaching the base of the mountain Tavus motioned for Wraith and her team to separate and head up the next trail.

Wraith glanced back at them as they silently moved up the trail, "Once we get set up we'll do a perimeter scan, call out any targets you see and only fire on my command."

"Roger" Jorgan said, Whisper didn't reply.

The three set up at the ridge overlooking the base each of them scanning the area with their binoculars.

"Got a single enemy in each of the two guard towers" Jorgan said, "Neither seem to have access to an alarm. Wait, scratch that, there's a trigger box next to them, most likely wired to the base's alarms."

"No artillery placements in sight" Wraith said.

"I though Intel said there were long range artillery stationed here" Jorgan noted scanning the trenches around the base, "I count five men total in the trenches on the north side."

"It did" Wraith replied, "Wouldn't be the first time SIS has gotten something wrong, "Six more enemies in the east trenches."

"What's the call Wraith?" Jorgan asked.

"First let's get a fix on Tavus' location" Wraith said standing up, but Whisper grabbed her and pulled her down.

"Both of you down" she ordered, "Snipers on the ridge to the west, two of them."

Jorgan swore, "Did they see us?"

Whisper shook her head, "Don't think so."

"We'll have to take them out first" Jorgan said, "Even if they didn't see us, they'll definitely see Tavus and the others."

"Alright" Wraith said, "Stay low and line up your shots, wait for my go."

"I've got this" Whisper said reaching into one of her packs to retrieve her suppressor.

"What kind of rifle is that?" Jorgan asked her.

"It's a projectile rifle" Whisper explained, "Instead of energy cells I use bullets, they're much more fatal."

"Didn't think anyone used projectile weapons anymore" Jorgan said.

"Bullets are better than plasma" Whisper told him, "Better penetration depending on caliber, travel farther and cause more damage. Not to mention cheaper and easier to make."

"And what's that?" Jorgan asked nodding at the suppressor she screwed onto the end of the barrel.

"A suppressor" Whisper told him, "It'll mask the sound and flash of my shot."

"So they won't see where we shoot from, good to know."

Whisper got up to one knee and took aim at the first sniper, "Just keep looking around for any others."

Lining her shot on the first of the two snipers, zeroing her scope Whisper aimed up a notch and to the right. Compensating for the wind and gravity she wrapped her finger around the trigger as she pulled the weapon against her shoulder, she took a breath and held it steadying her rifle and finally pulled the trigger. The rifle kicked back against her shoulder, but she held it steady as she watched the enemy sniper's head snap before he fell onto his back dropping his weapon. Quickly moving her crosshairs to his partner she fired again her second shot burrowing into her target's chest dropping him.

"Both kills confirmed" she said lowering her rifle, "Any others?"

"Ridgeline completely clean" Jorgan said, "Excellent job."

Wraith spotted the other team, "Alright I see Tavus, standby."

"Wraith" Tavus said from her comlink, "We're in position, what about you?"

"We're all set" Wraith reported, "Two enemy snipers down. You've got five men patrolling the trench line you'll be entering and six in the north trenches and one target in each guard tower."

Tavus replied, "Copy. We're moving in thirty seconds be ready to cover us."

"Roger, Wraith out" Wraith looked at them, "Take the two in the towers first I don't want those alarms going off, after that keep an eye on the trenches if you have a shot take it, don't let them flank Tavus' team."

"On it" Jorgan said taking aim at the left tower, "I'll take the left one."

Whisper lined her shot on the right tower and on Wraith's go pulled the trigger watching the unsuspecting soldier fallback, his body almost falling over the edge.

"Both targets down" Wraith said, "Tavus is moving in, be ready."

They watched Tavus and his team move through the trenches, taking down each enemy they came across without firing a single shot. Two minute and five hostiles eliminated leaving only the six in the north trench lines. Adjusting her scope Whisper set her crosshairs on a pair of Imperials who were perfectly lined for a double kill. Her finger twitched on the trigger, she wanted to pull it.

"Dammit" Wraith growled, "We've got one coming out of the bunker, east side, he's going to see them."

"I've got a shot" Jorgan said, "There might be more inside. We should wait until he closes the door."

"Looks like he's on patrol" Wraith said watching the soldier walk away from the bunker, "Doors closed, take him."

"Headshot" Jorgan said, "Kill confirmed."

"Tavus is moving again" Wraith told them, "They're climbing out and moving for the north trenches."

Jorgan looked directly ahead of Tavus' path, "I've got two lined up thirty meters from Tavus' position."

"I can get them both with one shot" Whisper said, "You look for the others."

Pulling the trigger when Wraith gave the word Whisper watched the bullet enter the back of the first one's head before exiting and flying into his friend's neck dropping both of them.

Wraith confirmed both kills, "Double kill, excellent."

The sniper team waited while Tavus and his team cleared the rest of the trench, once all enemies were eliminated Tavus gave them the word and the three began repelling down to regroup with their squad.

"Great job Havoc" Tavus said, "Alright into the bunker, Gearbox get the door."

Dropping her rifle, Whisper drew her sidearm and proceeded inside with the squad, main room was empty.

"Something isn't right" Jorgan said, "Intel said there would be artillery placements and at least two dozen more enemies here."

"What are you thinking Jorgan?" Tavus asked him.

"That this is a trap" Whisper said, "That this is a perfect kill zone."

Tavus looked outside, the bunker was at the base of the mountain and the ridgeline formed a horseshoe around them nearly boxing them in.

Tavus continued to look around at the ridge and the mountain above them. Jorgan and Whisper were right, this was a trap, but what kind? Was it out here in the trenches or was it waiting inside the bunker?

"This place is completely empty" Gearbox said, "No doors or tunnels leading out, just a big room."

An explosion made them jump and a tremor shook the ground causing Whisper to stumble into Jorgan who caught her.

"Artillery inbound" Tavus yelled closing the door, "Get down."

They all dropped to the ground as the next bomb rained down shaking the ground again followed by a third.

"Dammit" Tavus said jumping back to his feet, "I should have seen it. Somehow they knew we were coming and they set up a kill zone."

Another artillery shell hit the ridge to the east and the ground shook again.

"Are they trying to bury us or blow us up?" Gearbox asked.

"Doesn't matter" Needles told him, "Either way we'd be just as dead."

"Attention Republic soldiers" a voice said before a hologram of a man in officer's clothing appeared, "This is General Anson Ryker. My cannons are locked onto the bunker's coordinates and I have a platoon of soldiers ready to surround the structure. I offer you a choice. Lay down your weapons and come out and you will not be harmed, refuse and be buried alive."

The hologram turned off and the bombing stopped for now.

"This place is well fortified" Fuse said, "It could withstand multiple direct hits, but eventually it will give."

"And he knows that" Gearbox said, "If we say no, he'll hit us with a few more to try and make us sweat to see if he can break us then he'll offer us a second chance to surrender."

"We're not surrendering" Tavus said, "We'll think of a way out of here."

"Hopefully we'll do that soon" Fuse said, "Their jamming our comms now, we can't call for help."

Ten minutes passed and General Ryker contacted them again asking them if they had decided to accept his offer.

"We do not surrender" Tavus told him.

Ryker smirked, "I see from your emblem that you're the famous Havoc Squad. You are practically legends, I guess this will just be another accomplishment for me."

Again the hologram switched off and moments later another artillery shell hit the bunker.

"Well" Jorgan said, "Anyone got a plan?"

An hour had passed, the bombings were one at a time every few minutes, but they had become more frequent now they were coming three a minute. Some would hit the bunker directly, others would hit the mountain above them. Whisper and Jorgan had gone out to try and get a count of the number of enemies, but ended up in a firefight before being forced to retreat back inside. Was this really it, were they going to die here?

The ground shook as another volley of artillery hammered the bunker, Whisper sat against the wall her rifle propped up between her legs and resting against her shoulder. Their mission had gone south, the Intel they received was wrong and now they were making their last stand in a bunker that was moments away from a cave-in. This mission was doomed from the start.

"Hope your ready" Gearbox said to her as the bunker shook again.

Whisper opened her eyes, looking up at the burly, dark skinned commando in front f her, his brown eyes afire with determination as he shouldered his rifle and nodded for her to get up and follow him.

"We've got a plan" he said before walking back to the rest of the team.

Whisper opened her hand staring at the last clip of rounds she had. Planting the butt of her rifle she used it to push herself up and slipped the bullets back into her supply pouch as she joined the rest of the squad. She could hear the stone and steel around them straining with each hit, it wouldn't be long now; they had to make this last round count.


	8. Awakening Rage

The bunker was beginning to crumble another few direct hits and it would surely cave in, their time was up. Whisper opened the bunker door just enough to slide her scope through and scan the surrounding ridge, the artillery fire had stopped hitting the mountain around them leading her and Havoc believing the enemy forces had set up vantage points around them. Another round of artillery hammered the bunker the tremors nearly toppling Whisper, but she held her stance until her survey was complete.

"Well?" Tavus asked her when she closed the door.

"Two snipers on this side" she told him.

Jorgan suggested, "They probably set up a sniper team on the opposite side as well where we can't see until it's too late."

"Well that's what this is for" Gearbox told him setting a box made of welded steel in front of them, "Hopefully; it's the best I could do with what was around."

"What is it?" Jorgan asked him.

"It's a cloak generator" Gearbox explained, "I took apart the hologram projector Ryker contacted us with and used its projection matrix."

"Will this thing work?" Jorgan asked.

Gearbox nodded, "It will work, but I can't say for how long, there wasn't much to use for a power supply, but it will generate a cloaking field to camouflage one of us."

"Can we not all go at once?" Jorgan asked him.

Gearbox shook his head, "No, the projection radius is just over two meters, there's no way it will cover more than of us."

Whisper slid her scope back onto her rifle and clicked it in place nodding to Tavus.

Tavus nodded back to her, "Here's the plan using this Whisper will conceal herself and head out and head for the ridge, scouting as much as she can and eliminating any enemies she can along the way. The suppressor on her rifle will help keep her hidden when she fires" he turned to Whisper, "Once you establish over watch you'll cover us as we make a run for it. We'll regroup at the ridge and make a break for it, get as far away as we can and radio for extraction."

Again Whisper nodded and took the generator from Gearbox. It was heavier than it looked, eleven or twelve extra kilograms to carry."

Gearbox apologized to her, "Sorry, it was the best I co do with what was lying around."

"I'll be fine" Whisper said checking her remaining ammunition before heading toward the bunker door.

The sun was setting, casting its brilliant orange glare across the sky and covering half the ridge in shadows. It was probably the only advantage she would really have right now, if there were enemy spotters or snipers on the ridge behind her the light would be directly in their eyes and the wall of rock and stone in front of Whisper shielded her from the sun. Whisper quietly wondered why the Imperials would not set up their forces on this side of the ridge considering the only door to the bunker was on this side. The trenches seemed longer and narrower than they were when they first arrived, the tension of the situation made it seem as if the trench walls were going to close in on them.

She was getting closer t the pair of snipers above her; she had to move slower now to avoid making too much noise still hurrying before the clocking generator ran out of power. She stopped for a moment to check the ridge behind her; sure enough there was another sniper team set up. She raised her rifle checking if she could take them from her current position, but their elevation provided too much cover for her to get a clear shot forcing her to keep moving.

Finally reaching the end of the trench the ever silent sniper made for the ridge getting closer and closer to the Imperial sniper and spotter ahead of her. She wanted to do it quietly, to sneak up behind them and kill them without a struggle; the problem would be she had to make sure the team on the opposite side didn't see their comrades killed. The pair in front of her were still focused on the Bunker door, the only entrance and exit to the hardened structure, with them focused on the bunker Whisper was free to take out the two on the other side.

Readying her rifle Whisper brought the stock to her shoulder, peering through her scope she set her crosshairs on the spotter, the wind was low and their elevations nearly even a straight shot any rookie could make. Her finger wrapped around the trigger ready to send her target, but a sound ripped her attention away. A sound she had become too familiar with over the past hour, she dropped to one knee bracing herself as the next artillery strike hit the bunker shaking the earth around it. Lowering herself onto her stomach she brought the stock of her rifle to her shoulder and adjusted her elevation gauge and aimed just to the left of her target to compensate for the light wind.

Whisper inhaled and released her breath before taking in another and letting it go, allowing her lungs time to relax before she inhaled a third breath and held it. Her rifle steady she wrapped her finger around the trigger and like so many times before slowly pulled back until she felt the tension pushing back and then it clicked. The bullet flew from the barrel spiraling through the air as it cross the ravine penetrating its way into its target's skull, shattering the bone before traveling through the brain and down into her victim's throat.

She watched the spotter's prone form bend as the bullet struck there was no question that he had died immediately. She immediately turned her sights to the sniper who had jumped to his knees seeing his partner dead next to him scanning the area before Whisper's next shot pierced his jaw the bone fragmenting and breaking as the bullet went further in tearing its way into the sniper's spinal cord. Confirming her kill Whisper slowly got up to one knee and continued on, low on ammunition she dropped her rifle allowing its sling to catch itself against her neck as she drew her sidearm. Hearing another artillery shot approaching she dropped to one knee to maintain her balance the ridge quaked following the impact surely the bunker could not take another shot. Aiming her pistol a cracking sound stopped her from firing, the improvised clock generator died exposing her presence.

"What the hell?" one of the Imperials yelled seeing Whisper next to him with her weapon drawn.

Whisper watched the two prone Imperial snipers push up to a kneeling stance, time slowed as they moved their blaster rifles toward her ready to fire. Pulling the trigger Whisper fired two shots into the chest of the Imperial directly in front of her and as he fell back she moved her sights to the other, but she was too slow. The Imperial fired first the bolt of plasma slamming against Whisper's shoulder the impact even worse at close range. Whisper fell onto her back her shoulder screaming as she tried to raise her arm to fire back only for the Imperial to step on her hand pinning her gun to the ground. The barrel of the blaster rifle was aimed at her chest and Whisper saw the look in his eyes as his finger curled around the trigger and he grinned.

She wasn't afraid of dying she lost her fear of death the day the Imperials killed her family, but seeing him smiling, reveling in his apparent victory made her angry. Her mind replayed that day, after her family had died and she fled into the jungle with her wookiee uncle. Her uncle Talon had died from his injuries and as a frightened child she crawled under his arms the familiar feeling of the furry giant holding her made her feel safe as a child, but that feeling was long gone. Her parents were dead and the wookiee that had been her father's best friend and her uncle had died protecting her and not long after pair of Imperials were standing over her, a terrified child, weapons aimed ready to kill her.

The pain in her shoulder ceased to exist being swallowed by the rage and hate she felt from seeing this Imperial bastard standing over her. Her free arm shot up and a burst of invisible energy pushed the Imperial off and away from her, the air rippled as she got up to her knee and reached out with her arm imagining she had seized him by the throat. Whisper blinded by her hatred of the Empire slowly stood as the Imperial sniper dropped his weapon and clawed at the invisible hand strangling him, his eyes widening in pain and the realization of what he was facing. He watched in frozen, suffocating horror as Whisper advanced on him until she was standing directly in front of him. Pressing the barrel of her sidearm against his stomach Whisper clenched her hand more continuing to strangle the Imperial waiting until his face red with suffering and his eyes rolling back as the last of his life faded then she pulled the trigger ending his life.

Releasing the dead sniper Whisper watched as his body slumped to the ground spitting on him before looking back to the bunker. The door opened and Havoc squad rushed out as another artillery shell was coming down, bracing herself Whisper watched the members of the commando squad hit the deck and cover themselves just before the shell hit and the bunker finally caved in. Kneeling down Whisper raised her rifle to provide cover for Havoc as they moved through the trenches, thanks to the cloak generator Gearbox made Whisper was able to remain unseen by the Imperial forces watching the bunker from outside the valley, but as the trenches began to collapse from the constant shelling Havoc was left exposed.

She was running low on ammunition for her rifle; she had to prioritize her targets, spotting an Imperial in officer's clothing she fired her shot hitting his clavicle before tunneling its way through his ribcage, part of his heart and lung killing him. Her next shot was the fuel tank the transport shuttle the first shot spilled the tank and the next ignited it the resulting explosion killing a squad of enemies. Havoc ran through the trenches with Tavus at point and Wraith behind him, the two stopped to fire at the Imperials while their teammates continued to run. Once the rest of the team passed them Tavus and Wraith ran again, another few yards and Jorgan and Gearbox at the front stopped to fire, covering their team's advance.

Whisper saw why they were such an effective unit, there were no calls or orders being issue from Tavus, they all moved completely in synch with one another, experience and trust guiding them. Whisper often worked alone, rarely being assigned a spotter or another sniper along with her, but she had never worked as part of an actual team believing herself to be most effective alone. Seeing the way Havoc operated, she could see the merits of being part of team.

The commando squad made it out of the trench and were now completely in the open as they ran for cover. Tavus was at point again, but he stopped and pivoted on his heel dropping down to one knee and firing back at the enemies below. He stood and turned just as Fuse reared his arm back and threw a grenade that began spewing out a thick cloud of smoke to cover their retreat.

"Good job Whisper" Jorgan said as they reached her.

"Congratulate her later" Wraith told him, "Keep moving."

Once Tavus caught up they ran through the ridge ling back the way they came, toward the shuttle they used for insertion. Once they were outside the coverage of the jamming device Tavus radioed the Republic fleet above for an emergency extraction. The fleet admiral told them a medevac shuttle and fighter escort were dispatched, but it would be close to ten minutes before they arrived on site.

"We'll be overrun by then" Tavus told the fleet admiral, "Tell them to hurry."

"Time for another last stand Commander?" Gearbox asked.

Tavus nodded, "We'll use the wreckage of the shuttle for cover, Jorgan, Wraith and Whisper you set up further back over there" he pointed at a line of boulders, "Those will provide cover so you take them out, meanwhile the rest of us will make our stand here."

"What's your ammunition looking like?" Jorgan asked Whisper as they set up with Wraith behind the cover of the rock formation.

"Low" Whisper told him, "Eight rounds left."

"This is why you should use a blaster" Jorgan told her, "Battery packs can last for days."

Whisper shook her head, "Bullets are better than plasma."

Removing the suppressor from her rifle and returning it to one of her supply pouches Whisper planted her back against the boulder and waited. Jorgan would fire first followed by Wraith then she would go, in sequence each of them ducked out from cover and fired managing to kill a target as the Imperial battalion came around the ridge. Tavus and the others began firing once the enemy was in range, Fuse and Gearbox tried to rig what explosives they had left to the remains of their shuttle for when they had to fall back. The enemy battalion entered the valley, the sea of blaster fire covered the area as they advanced on the lone squad, fanning out to box them in and cut them off from escape.

"I'm hit" Needles yelled after a bolt hit his chest.

"Charges set" Gearbox called before grabbing Needles and lifting him up.

"Smoke going out" Fuse yelled throwing the last of his smoke grenades at either side of the wreckage to cover their retreat.

"Fallback" Tavus ordered.

They made it to the rock formation rejoining Whisper and the others, Whisper lowered her rifle and drew her sidearm, it would not be long now another minute and they would be completely overrun. Lowering his rifle Fuse activated the remote detonator setting off the charges they placed on the wrecked shuttle, the initial explosion killing dozens of nearby Imperials and the debris and shrapnel propelled outward felled even more on all sides, but they were still outnumbered and running out of time. Whisper inhaled a deep breath, the pain in her shoulder had returned worse than it was, she could feel her blood boiling she refused to let these scum kill her.

Fuse was hit, his weapon flying out of his hand as he fell back, Tavus and Wraith both moving to cover him as Jorgan pulled him behind better cover. Her sidearm empty Whisper returned it to its holster and picked up Fuse's blaster rifle, she had never used them in the field or actual battle, her only experience with them during her basic training upon joining the Republic and once every few months just to keep her skills up. Her hate and anger returned to her, erasing her pain, for each Imperial out there her anger rose and her hate burned even more, she felt both swelling within her like a storm she couldn't control it made her feel…stronger.

"Whisper what the hell are you doing?" Tavus yelled watching the sniper step out of cover.

It was like a voice in her head, a whisper in her own mind telling her what to do. She raised her arm first rearing it back and pouring her emotions into her hand before pushing forward and releasing it. The air rumbled and a wave of unseen power just like with the Imperial sniper earlier erupted from Whisper's hand bowling over entire lines of enemies. Whisper turned raising the blaster rifle and pulled the trigger, the recoil from the automatic fire caused the rifle to kick up and back with each shot threatening to tear itself from her hands, but her grip only tightened as it did.

"She's a Jedi?" Gearbox yelled, "Why didn't Commander West mention that?"

"It doesn't matter" Tavus told him, "Keep firing, hold them off."

Gunning down a squad of enemies the voice in Whisper's head warned her of the incoming fire from her flank and she ducked using the same ability before using the same power and leveling another line of enemies. Her enemies seemed to be moving slower and so did their blaster fire, she felt like she could weave through them, was this the power Satele had told her about? Was this, the Force?

She felt stronger and lighter as she moved, though her anger burned she felt entranced by what was happening to her. Another push of her hand and volley of fire and down went another line of enemies, between the empowered sniper and the squad of commandos behind her the Imperials fell in waves, but eventually the enemy's superior numbers proved to be too much. Though she felt stronger with this power she began to feel tired, she was slowing down and finally an enemy tagged her. The shot hit her chest knocking the wind out of her and pulling her back to reality, the feeling of enchantment was gone and her rage returned to her made even hotter by the pain of her injuries. Dropping her blaster she raised both arms fueling herself with her anger and hate and unleashed it all in a single explosive outburst sending her enemies flying back into one another.

Whisper dropped to her knees and crawled for cover from a rock barely big enough to hide behind, overcome with pain and out of breath Whisper's body became lead leaving her unable to move. She heard Tavus yell that Jorgan had been hit and followed by Wraith and Gearbox both calling out Tavus' name. Whisper looked to the blaster she dropped on the ground it was too far out of her reach for her to reclaim safely and the enemy was getting closer, was this really the end?

A loud explosion echoed and the ground shook; a roaring sound above as a Republic fighter zoomed overhead. Whisper risked a glance and leaned out of cover most of the advancing enemy battalion was wiped out by the attack, the ones that remained were firing at the incoming evac shuttle. The Republic fighter came back around dropping another bomb and scattering the Imperials caught in the blast radius. The medevac landed and a squad of troopers jumped out providing covering fire to Havoc and Whisper as they made a run for the transport.

"Commander" one of the troopers spoke up, "Admiral DeSanta wants to know the mission status, did you get the Intel?"

Tavus shook his head, "The whole thing was a trap, there was no Intel. General Ryker was never here."

The trooper nodded, "Understood, at least you all made it out alive."

"Something about this doesn't make sense" Jorgan said as the medic checked his injuries, "When Ryker contacted us he said his cannons were locked on to the bunker. Like he was actually in control of them, if he wasn't there wouldn't he say his men are locked on to us?"

Gearbox looked at him, "You think Ryker was really there somewhere?"

Jorgan nodded, "It's just a feeling I have."

Whisper had the same feeling, Ryker was here leading the Imperial forces. She checked her rifle, one bullet left. Standing up she opened the door of the shuttle ignoring the protests of her allies, they were flying over the bunker they were trapped in. She saw another Imperial complex half a mile away and a landing transport, raising her rifle she spotted him, General Anson Ryker leaving the bunker and heading toward the waiting transport.

"I see him" Whisper said, "Hold us steady I've only got one shot left."

Tavus called to the pilot, "Hold us steady."

The shuttle rocked as it came to a halt, swaying back and the forward again before finally coming to a rest. Whisper held her rifle tight against her shoulder ignoring her pain as her crosshairs swayed with the shuttle, adjusting her distance and wind gauges she zeroed in on Ryker. Inhaling her first breath she slowly released it before taking in another to steady her lungs, exhaling the second breath she inhaled a third and held it. Wrapping her finger around the trigger she aimed ahead of him and pulled the trigger.

The gunshot echoed more loudly inside the durasteel hull of the shuttle deafening everyone, but Whisper kept her sights on Ryker even as the rifle kicked back into her wounded shoulder. Two seconds later the bullet had traveled its distance and found its mark in Ryker's skull, his head snapped to the side and his body turned as he fell, his subordinates swarming him as he dropped.

Seeing the blood pool under him Whisper closed the shuttle door, "Kill confirmed, let's go."


End file.
